Duygu Balan, License Professional Clinical Counselor, Bay Area, mindfulness, California, New York licensed, couples therapy, individual therapy, trauma-informed, mental health, yoga, Turkish

I am a psychotherapist, author, speaker, and mental health consultant licensed in New York and California. I specialize in trauma, attachment, relationships, and the psychological demands of high-performance and creative lives.

In addition to working with individuals and couples, I work extensively with actors, musicians, dancers, models, writers, and other creatives navigating visibility, performance pressure, burnout, toxic relationships, and major life transitions.

I am the co-author of Re-Write: A Trauma Workbook of Creative Writing and Recovery in Our New Normal (Routledge, 2023), Confidently Chill: An Anxiety Workbook for New Adults (Routledge, 2024), co-creator of the graphic novel Kader's Quest (Routledge, 2026), and co-author of the forthcoming Body Business: Maintaining Mental Health and Autonomy for Athletes, Performers, and Models (Routledge, 2027).

I am a regular contributor to Psychology Today, where I write about relationships, creativity, and modern dating, a psychological lens. In addition, I interview authors, performers, and other creatives about the stories, struggles, and experiences that inform their work.

Having lived between cultures, countries, and creative worlds, I am especially interested in questions of belonging, identity, ambition, and the narratives people construct to survive, heal, and grow. I split my time between New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area.