Meet Basak Kaya, APCC
Associate Professional Clinical Counselor # license 236998
Supervised by Raphaella Croccia, LMFT. RPT-S
Basak
is a collaborative, humanistic counselor who believes deeply in the power of evidence-based care
to help children and families live more balanced, meaningful lives.
“In safety and play, children find the courage
to heal, and the freedom
to be truly
seen”
Basak
Basak Kaya, APCC, holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Counseling from the California School of Professional Psychology, where she was inducted into the Chi Sigma Iota Honor Society. She also earned a Master of Business Administration from The George Washington University and a Bachelor of Science from The University of Virginia.
Basak is a trauma-informed, attachment-focused clinician with hands-on experience in Play Therapy and expressive arts modalities for young children. She is passionate about supporting infants, children, and adults navigating attachment trauma, using safety and play as the pathway to healing. Her training includes TF-CBT and CPT (Medical University of South Carolina), Play Therapy (Paris Goodyear-Brown, CALAPT, Alliant University), expressive arts and nature-based approaches (Alliant University), Attachment-Based and Family Systems work (PESI), and Neurofeedback (San Diego Therapy Center).
​Basak feels most at home in nature, and it shows in her work. She often draws on the natural world as a source of
grounding and healing for the children and families she supports
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​An adventurous spirit and avid traveler, she has visited 53 countries, gathering experiences that shape a genuine multicultural lens.
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Her multilingual skills and diverse professional background allow her to connect meaningfully with clients from a wide range of cultural and socioeconomic contexts
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Basak is bilingual in English and Turkish
Outside of the office, Basak loves hiking with her husband, and their two dogs Luke and Leia — named, of course, after Star Wars!
Before turning her focus to clinical work, Basak spent years leading diverse teams in healthcare organizations, developing DEI initiatives, and mentoring professionals — experience that shapes how she supports the whole family, not just the child in the room. She has also volunteered with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the National Alliance on Mental Illness, reflecting her long-standing commitment to community mental health.
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