Mental Health

September 2022

Symposium on Child and Adolescent Mental Health Virtual Conference

Through its sponsorship, AHABA made possible the Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Symposium through the International Center of Professional Development. The symposium was co-chaired by Dr. Arman Danielyan (AHABA board member) and Dr. Armen Soghoyan. The conference was dedicated to the memory of Professor Konstantin Danielyan who chaired the Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Medical Psychology of the National Institute of Health of Armenia from 1985 and contributed immensely to the development of the field in Armenia.

Held on September 23-24, 2022, the online symposium attracted psychiatrists, psychologists, rehabilitation specialists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech therapists, juvenile justice workers, pediatricians, developmental pediatricians, family doctors, nurses, social workers, counselors, and educators as well as the lay public. Approximately 2,200 health care professionals registered for the symposium, overwhelming the technical capacity which allowed 1,000 attendees. Twenty experts from the United States, Canada, Armenia and Switzerland shared their knowledge and experience on child and adolescent mental health and neurodevelopmental disorders including autism spectrum disorders, mood and anxiety disorders, gender identity disorders and suicidal behaviors in youth. Approximately 600 attendees completed a post-symposium evaluation. 99.8% of participants rated the content useful or very useful

Co-chair, Dr. Arman Danielyan commented on the conference, “I was pleasantly surprised by such tremendous interest in the field of pediatric mental health and neurodevelopmental disorders. We had unexpectedly high number of participants, which emphasized how widespread the problems affecting mental health in youth are. Our conference also helped to have more open discussion about topics not so widely explored or talked about in the past, including gender identity disorders in youth. We hope this will be the first in a series of professional meetings in the field of child and adolescent mental health and Neurodevelopmental disorders that will help to share experience and to improve collaboration between professionals in Armenia and elsewhere with the goal to improve mental/emotional well-being of youth and their families”.

January 2021

Mental Health Initiative

There Is No Health without Mental Health!

As we continue to deal with the humanitarian crisis in Armenia and Artsakh, it is of crucial importance that we begin to address the mental health and psychosocial support of our population for the long-term health of Armenia. 

The conflict in Artsakh has led to significant stress-related disturbances, not only for those participating in active combat but also for their families and friends, first responders, those who have been displaced and school children who were exposed to the atrocities of war. We have been witnessing significant surge in stress-related disorders, including depression, anxiety, Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance use disorders and others.

“We need to focus on prevention now. We will be dealing with increasingly severe cases of chronic PTSD if we don’t intervene immediately. My previous practice with combat veterans indicates that the nature of such a catastrophic war will not only cause lifelong mental health problems but may also have devastating consequences on the society in general. One of our main objectives at this stage should be to promote public awareness about identification and treatment of not only physical, but psychological injuries”.

Khachatur Gasparyan, PhD, Chairman of the Department of Psychology at Yerevan State Medical University

Although governmental organizations have been doing their best to address some basic mental health needs, the magnitude of the problem is such that our help is needed too. 

Our goal is to provide urgent psychiatric and psychological help to those in need most immediately, while also focusing on securing long-term, sustainable professional mental health services for those affected directly or indirectly by the war in Artsakh. Some specific projects that are underway that need financial support to assure sustainability and those that have been newly proposed include:

  • Mental Health Hotline in Armenia 
  • Mental Health Services for those dealing with grief/bereavement as a result of war in Artsakh
  • Post-war psychological support to children and adolescents
  • Psychological rehabilitation of internally displaced people from Artsakh
  • Development of Mental Health Outreach program in the regions of Armenia that border Azerbaijan
  • Research studies that compare the “real world” success of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) interventions for those affected by the war in Artsakh

We also hope to create a public awareness campaign about mental health for war-related trauma and train mental health professionals on working with victims of war.

To advance these goals, we have partnered with non-governmental organizations that have a strong track record of providing high quality professional mental health services in Armenia and Artsakh. Here are some of our partner organizations: 

You can help with the healing…

Support our military heroes and their families.

Maintain the resiliency of the people of Artsakh and Armenia

Send your tax-deductible donation to the Armenian Healthcare Association of the Bay Area. (AHABA), a 501(c)(3) organization.

Please be sure to select “Mental Health” in the dropdown box when making your donation. 

And to increase the impact of your gift, check with your employer to see if your company has a matching funds program. 

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