Prof. Dr. Vehbi Alp Üçok

After graduating from Hacettepe Faculty of Medicine in 1985, he began his psychiatry residency at Istanbul Faculty of Medicine in 1988. He received the title of specialist in psychiatry in 1993, associate professor in 1995, and professor of psychiatry in 2001.
In 1996, he established the Psychotic Disorders Research Program (PAP) within the Department of Psychiatry at Istanbul Faculty of Medicine. After participating in Psychosocial Skills Training programs in Schizophrenia at the University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA) and Brentwood VA Hospital in 1998, he initiated group therapy practices for psychosis patients in both outpatient and inpatient settings at the Psychiatry Clinic of Istanbul Faculty of Medicine.

His primary area of interest is schizophrenia and mood disorders. His main research and areas of interest include the first episode and subsequent episodes of schizophrenia, identification and treatment approaches for individuals at risk for psychosis, treatment-resistant schizophrenia, and stigma associated with schizophrenia. He has conducted individual and family counseling and group therapy sessions for the psychotherapy of psychotic disorders.

Starting in 1998, he worked to launch the WPA’s schizophrenia and anti-stigma and discrimination program in Türkiye, and from 2001 onwards, she served as the Turkey coordinator for this campaign. He is a member of the WPA Schizophrenia Section, the WPA Stigma and Mental Disorders Section, and the European Psychiatric Association Schizophrenia Section. He is also a member of various international research and collaboration groups such as TRRIP, STRATA, and EURONES. He has 126 articles published in international journals, which have received over 5000 citations (14.11.2014). His h-index (WOS) is 35.

Prof. Dr. Vehbi Alp Üçok works at the Private Moodist Hospital.