Sezercan Ucar

Sezercan Ucar is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Marriage and Family Therapy concentration within the Human Development program at Virginia Tech. He earned his B.A. in Psychology with a minor in International Relations and his M.A. in Psychology, specializing in Couple and Family Therapy, from Özyeğin University in Istanbul, Turkey.

His master’s thesis examined the experiences of noncustodial fathers facing parental alienation during and after divorce and custody processes. Sezercan integrates various therapeutic approaches in his clinical practice, primarily adopting a systemic perspective. He utilizes emotionally focused therapy (EFT), as well as structural, strategic, experiential, and postmodern models to address diverse client needs.

His current Ph.D. research centers on the student outcomes of Harry Aponte’s person-of-the-therapist (POTT) training model, with an aim to lay the groundwork for testing the efficacy of this widely used training approach in marriage and family therapy. Additionally, he is involved in research exploring the mental health perceptions of refugee youth using photovoice, as well as examining the coming-out experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals and the supportive role that friendships play in these processes.