Ani Kalayjian

Ani Kalayjian is Armenian American psychologist, trauma expert and author. She is an internationally recognized expert on the psychological effects of trauma in disaster victims, and the author of "Disaster & Mass Trauma: Global Perspectives in Post Disaster Mental Health Management" (Vista Publishers 1995).^[1]

Biography

Ani Kalayjian grew up as an Armenian child in Syria. From an early age, Kalayjian was interested in trauma and its effect as her parents were survivors of the 1915 Armenian Genocide. As she witnessed her parent’s struggles, she grew up experiencing the effects of trauma through her parents' suffering. This childhood struggle influenced her work. Kalayjian became a Psychiatric nurse and teacher, then psychologist, international researcher and devoted her life to helping survivors of natural and human-made disasters.

She has worked with veterans of the Gulf War and the Vietnam conflict, survivors of the Holocaust and Ottoman-Turkish Genocide of the Armenians, and survivors of earthquakes and hurricanes. She is known for her unique 7-step healing and empowering tool The Bio-Psychosocial and Eco-Spiritual Model used in over 45 humanitarian outreaches around the world with wonderful outcomes.^[2]

After earning her Doctor of Education degree (Ed. D.) from Teachers College, Columbia University in 1986, Kalayjian began her humanitarian outreach travels. From 1988 to 2006 she traveled the world to assist health professionals treating trauma cases after natural and human made disasters. She provided training to psychiatrists, psychologists and general practitioners in post-trauma therapeutic interventions. .

She has taught in a variety of universities and colleges including; Columbia University, Fordham University, Hunter College, Pace University, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Seton Hall University, the College of New Rochelle, Bloomfield College, the College of Mount Saint Vincent and St. Joseph College. A distinguished psychologist in her field, Kalayjian was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from Long Island University in 2001, which recognized her 20 years as a pioneering clinical researcher, professor, and humanitarian outreach administrator around the globe and at the U.N.. In 2007 she was awarded Columbia University Teacher College's Distinguished Alumni of the Year. in 2014 she received the Outstanding Humanitarian Award from University of Missouri.^[3] In 2016, she was awarded for Outstanding Contributions to Practice in Trauma Psychology from APA Division 56.^[4] In 2016 she was elected both an Inaugural Fellow of Dyson College Center for Global Psychology (DCCGP), Pace University and a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine.

Kalayjian is the Chief Editor of Forgiveness & Reconciliation: Psychological Pathways to Conflict Transformation and Peace Building (Springer Publishing, 2010), Chief Editor for II Volumes on Mass Trauma and Emotional Healing Around the World: Rituals and practices for resilience and meaning-making, (ABC-CLIO, 2010), wrote and Produced a CD on Ancestral Meditation from War to Peace, and nine films on Humanitarian Relief around the Globe. She also maintains a private practice and is an adjunct professor at Columbia University in New York, New York.^[5]

References