In Turkey, psychologist Esra Özbey blamed family therapists for the sharp increase in divorce rates in a video she shared on social media. According to her, the specialists' prioritization of individual happiness harms the family structure.
According to Milli.Az's report, Esra Özbey claims that since family therapists started instilling in their patients that the most important things in marriage are "love" and "feeling valuable," there has been an explosion in divorces.
Özbey believes that the continual focus on self-worth and individual happiness reduces tolerance between parties, which causes minor problems to result in separation.
The psychologist notes that prioritizing the individual's happiness over family unity in therapy weakens family bonds in modern times. She argues that the "I"-centered approach destroys the concept of "we."
Özbey's statement has created two different fronts in society and among specialists:
Some users think that modern psychology makes people overly individualistic and presents family sacrifice as an outdated concept.
Other specialists state that the real causes of divorces are economic difficulties, violence, infidelity, and changing societal norms. According to them, the psychologist's duty is to protect individual health, because it is impossible to build a healthy family from unhappy individuals.