A tightly knotted red rope on a mustard background
A half-loosened red rope knot on a mustard background
An untied red rope waving across a mustard background

Life & career coach · Kadıköy and online

You are stuck
somewhere.

Work, a decision, balance or a team. Wherever the knot is, the first step is to see it by name.

Free intro call Find where you are stuck

Which knot sounds familiar?

The four sentences clients say most often in our first conversation. Pull the one closest to you.

  • First we separate what is holding you: money, identity or fear? In Crossroads we put the options on the table and test them with small experiments, before anyone writes a resignation letter.

    Crossroads programme

  • We look at your calendar, your boundaries and the places where you cannot say no. Reset is not about doing more; it is about deciding what to drop.

    Reset programme

  • The three-session Decision Room focuses on a single question. We do not decide for you; we make visible what you do not know and why you are waiting.

    Decision Room programme

  • We work with new managers on difficult conversations, feedback and delegation. Through the corporate programme if your company supports it, individually if not.

    Stepping into Management

None of them quite fits? A knot is often several strands tangled together; we separate them in the first call.

Where are you stuck?

Five questions, two minutes. At the end you see the programme that fits you best and why. Your answers are not stored anywhere.

1 / 5What crosses your mind most on Sunday evenings?
2 / 5If a friend asked "what's up?", what would you say first?
3 / 5What do you see when you look at your calendar?
4 / 5A year from now, what would you most like to have changed?
5 / 5What stops you most?

Programmes

  1. CrossroadsFor those who want to see the road before leaving the job. 8 sessions · 4 months · 60 min · Online or in person 24.000 TRY
  2. ResetFor those who notice the tiredness starts in the calendar. 6 sessions · 3 months · 60 min · Online or in person 18.000 TRY
  3. Decision RoomFor one question you have postponed for months. 3 sessions · 3 weeks · 75 min · Online or in person 9.000 TRY
  4. Deep SessionFor those who want to lay things out in a single session. Single session · 1 day · 90 min · Online 3.500 TRY

All programmes and fees For companies

How do we work together?

Every programme runs along the same rope. The knots loosen one by one; you set the pace.

A long red rope on mustard paper with knots that loosen from left to right

  1. Meeting

    30 minutes, free

    I listen to what brings you and we discuss whether coaching suits you. If it does not, I will tell you plainly.

  2. Map

    First session, 90 minutes

    We trace where the knot begins: values, relationships, money, time. What we will look at during the programme becomes clear here.

  3. Sessions

    Every two weeks

    At the end of each session we set a small step for you to try within two weeks. The next session starts with what that step taught you.

  4. Closing

    Final session

    We look back to where we started. What changed, what stayed the same, whose hands the rope is in now: I write it down and leave it with you.

Defne Aksoy

Hello, I am Defne.

I worked in a holding company's human resources for 12 years, then set up my own practice. Since then I have accompanied people through career and life knots in more than 1400 hours of one-to-one sessions.

I will not tell you what to do. I ask the right question, make room for silence and, two weeks later, remind you of the step you promised. Sessions in my room in Kadıköy or online, in Turkish or English.

  • ICF PCC (Professional Certified Coach)
  • Boğaziçi University, BA Psychology
  • Marmara University, MA Human Resource Management
  • More than 1,400 hours of one-to-one coaching
My full story

Then / Now

Then

"I have been at the same bank for nine years. Every morning I sit in the car park for five minutes."

Now

Within two years she turned the woodworking she started at weekends into a part-time job and moved to a four-day week at the bank.

“I thought I would resign. I didn't; but I no longer sit in the car park.”
S., 34Product manager at a bank Crossroads · 8 sessions

Then

"I keep up with everyone but myself. Even on holiday I sleep with my phone."

Now

She halved the number of weekly meetings at the agency and switched off email after 7 pm. For the first time she left her phone in a drawer for a week's holiday.

“Writing the list of things to drop was harder than writing my to-do list.”
M., 41Agency founder, mother of two Reset · 6 sessions

Then

"I have an offer from Berlin. For six months I have been unable to say yes or no."

Now

He realised the decision was not about moving but about how to tell his family. He accepted the offer and also wrote down a return date for the first year.

“In the third session I said the decision out loud. Saying it made it easier.”
K., 29Software developer Decision Room · 3 sessions

Then

"Yesterday I was their deskmate, today I run performance reviews. Nobody told me how to do this."

Now

She set up regular fortnightly one-to-ones with her team. Six months later nobody in the team wanted to leave.

“Most of all I learned that delaying feedback was easier for me, not for the team.”
E., 37Sales team lead Stepping into Management · 8 sessions + 2 three-way meetings

Then

"Is forty-five too late to start something new?"

Now

After two trial projects he moved into vocational training; he now teaches workshop classes at a vocational high school.

“It wasn't too late. But I could not have known without trying.”
B., 45Engineer, 20 years in manufacturing Crossroads · 8 sessions

Stories are shared with clients' written consent and in a way that keeps them anonymous. Results vary from person to person. All stories

The first call is free.

30 minutes. No sales pitch; we talk about what you want and whether coaching fits you.

  • Online: the video call link is emailed to you.
  • In person: the consulting room in Moda.

TueNov 3

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SatNov 7

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MonNov 9

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Times are requests; I will call you the same day to confirm.

Choose another day

From the notebook

A woman in a mustard coat climbing stone steps in Istanbul in morning light October 26, 2026 Five questions to ask yourself before you resign Resignation letters usually wait in a drawer for months. Before you send yours, ask yourself the five questions that work best in my sessions. An open notebook, pencil, coffee and a coil of red rope on a wooden table October 15, 2026 Three reasons we postpone a decision for months A manager and an employee talking at a round table in a glass-walled meeting room October 4, 2026 What should a new manager's first one-to-ones look like?

All articles

Most asked

What is the difference between coaching and therapy?

Therapy mostly looks at the past and at healing, and is led by a mental health professional. Coaching looks forward from today: we clarify what you want and plan the steps to get there. For depression, anxiety disorders or trauma the right place is a psychologist or psychiatrist; if I notice such a situation I will refer you.

Will the coach tell me what to do?

No. Coaching is not giving advice; I accompany you in finding your own answer through questions, reflections and small experiments. But I do not hide what I see; I say it plainly when needed.

Is coaching right for everyone?

It suits anyone who wants to change something and is ready to make time for it. That is exactly what the free intro call is for.

What happens in a session?

We start with what the step you set last time taught you. Then we move to the topic you want to discuss that day. In the last ten minutes we write the new step you will try within two weeks.

Are online sessions as effective as in-person ones?

More than half my clients work online. A quiet room, headphones and a laptop with the camera on are enough. Some clients prefer the first session in person and the rest online.

Is what we discuss kept confidential?

Yes. Sessions are not recorded; my notes are mine alone and are not shared. I work under the ICF code of ethics. Even in corporate programmes no session content is passed to the company.

All questions