Duygu Balan is a psychotherapist, speaker, and author whose work centers on intimacy, trauma, identity, and the stories we tell about ourselves. She has authored 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), the graphic novel Kader’s Quest (Routledge, 2026), and the forthcoming Body Business: Maintaining Mental Health and Autonomy for Athletes, Performers, and Models (Routledge, 2027).
With two decades of clinical experience, Duygu works with artists and performers navigating attachment wounds, toxic relationships, and the pressures of public-facing careers. A PACT-certified couples therapist, she brings a relational, existential, and trauma-informed lens to her clinical practice and fiction.
Duygu contributes to Psychology Today, writing about modern relationships, trauma, and identity. As an entertainment industry consultant, she supports writers and creators in bringing psychological accuracy and ethical nuance to fictional narratives. She has been featured in media outlets and podcasts, including CNN, Good Housekeeping, HuffPost, Times Radio, and Mentally Stronger with Amy Morin. She splits her time between New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area.
