Ani Kalayjian

Last updated
Ani Kalayjian
Born
Syria
NationalitySyrian Armenian-American
Alma mater Columbia University
Occupation(s)Psychologist, author
Known forFounding Meaningful World

Ani Kalayjian (born in Syria) is a Syrian Armenian-American psychologist, academic, author, and poet. She is currently a professor of psychology at Fordham University. She is the author of Forget Me NOT: 7 Steps for Healing Our Body, Mind, Spirit, and Soul [1] and with Dominique Eugene she is the co-author of Mass Trauma and Emotional Healing Around the World: Rituals and Practices for Resilience and Meaning-making. [2] [3]

Biography

Kalayjian was born in Syria, one of seven children of Diramayr Zabell Kalayjian and Kevork Kalayjian. In 1960, she emigrated with her family from Syria to the United States. [4] She is the descendant of survivors of the Armenian Genocide.

She is a graduate of Columbia University’s Teachers College with Master’s and Doctoral Degrees, and holds an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree from Long Island University. She is the founder and President of the Association for Trauma Outreach & Prevention (ATOP), Meaningfulworld. Since 1998, she has consulted the United Nations, and more recently has been the representative of ATOP Meaningfulworld at the UN. She is an editor and author of numerous books and scholarly articles. [5] For the International Journal of School and Cognitive Phycology with Lorrain Simmons she co=authored the essay Meaningful World’s 11th Humanitarian Mission to Haiti Sustainable Community Healing, Peace-Building, and Meaning-Making for a Healthy Haiti. [6]

The organization she founded, Meaningful World, has for the past 21 years brought her and her team to nearly 25 countries ravaged by earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis, and other natural disasters. Most recently, the organization traveled to Haiti to provide mental health rehabilitation to those affected by the earthquake. [7] During the Covid19 pandemic she was interviewed on Bronxnet Community Television on trauma and its effect on the Black community during the crisis. [8] and she co-authored the article "Mental Health Challenges of a Global Pandemic: The Case of COVID-19" in Trauma Psychology News". [9]

Other articles she has authored or co-authored have been published in scholarly journals including "Gender and genocide: Armenian and Greek women finding positive meaning in the horror", "Posttraumatic Stress and Meaning Making in Mexico City", and "Chapter 11: Professional Roles and Attributes of the Transcultural Nurse". [10] [11] [12]

Kalayjian is also a registered nurse and has been consulted at various times by major news organizations on people's mood in relation to the weather and more specially seasonal mood disorder. [13] [14] [15]

Related Research Articles

Neurosis is a term mainly used today by followers of Freudian thinking to describe mental disorders caused by past anxiety, often that has been repressed. In recent history, the term has been used to refer to anxiety-related conditions more generally.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a person's life or well-being. Symptoms may include disturbing thoughts, feelings, or dreams related to the events, mental or physical distress to trauma-related cues, attempts to avoid trauma-related cues, alterations in the way a person thinks and feels, and an increase in the fight-or-flight response. These symptoms last for more than a month after the event. Young children are less likely to show distress, but instead may express their memories through play. A person with PTSD is at a higher risk of suicide and intentional self-harm.

Dissociation is a concept that has been developed over time and which concerns a wide array of experiences, ranging from a mild emotional detachment from the immediate surroundings, to a more severe disconnection from physical and emotional experiences. The major characteristic of all dissociative phenomena involves a detachment from reality, rather than a false perception of reality as in psychosis.

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a form of psychotherapy that is controversial within the psychological community. It was devised by Francine Shapiro in 1987 and originally designed to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic memories such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Somatic experiencing (SE) is a form of alternative therapy aimed at treating trauma and stress-related disorders, such as PTSD. The primary goal of SE is to modify the trauma-related stress response through bottom-up processing. The client's attention is directed toward internal sensations,, rather than to cognitive or emotional experiences. The method was developed by Peter A. Levine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betrayal</span> Breaking or violation of a presumptive contract, trust, or confidence

Betrayal is the breaking or violation of a presumptive contract, trust, or confidence that produces moral and psychological conflict within a relationship amongst individuals, between organizations or between individuals and organizations. Often betrayal is the act of supporting a rival group, or it is a complete break from previously decided upon or presumed norms by one party from the others. Someone who betrays others is commonly called a traitor or betrayer.

Childhood trauma is often described as serious adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Children may go through a range of experiences that classify as psychological trauma; these might include neglect, abandonment, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and physical abuse, witnessing abuse of a sibling or parent, or having a mentally ill parent. These events have profound psychological, physiological, and sociological impacts and can have negative, lasting effects on health and well-being such as unsocial behaviors, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and sleep disturbances. Similarly, children whose mothers have experienced traumatic or stressful events during pregnancy have an increased risk of mental health disorders and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grief counseling</span> Therapy for responses to loss

Grief counseling is a form of psychotherapy that aims to help people cope with the physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and cognitive responses to loss. These experiences are commonly thought to be brought on by a loved person's death, but may more broadly be understood as shaped by any significant life-altering loss.

In psychology, posttraumatic growth (PTG) is positive psychological change experienced as a result of struggling with highly challenging, highly stressful life circumstances. These circumstances represent significant challenges to the adaptive resources of the individual, and pose significant challenges to the individual's way of understanding the world and their place in it. Posttraumatic growth involves "life-changing" psychological shifts in thinking and relating to the world and the self, that contribute to a personal process of change, that is deeply meaningful.

PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder, is a psychiatric disorder characterised by intrusive thoughts and memories, dreams or flashbacks of the event; avoidance of people, places and activities that remind the individual of the event; ongoing negative beliefs about oneself or the world, mood changes and persistent feelings of anger, guilt or fear; alterations in arousal such as increased irritability, angry outbursts, being hypervigilant, or having difficulty with concentration and sleep.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transgenerational trauma</span> Psychological trauma

Transgenerational trauma is the psychological and physiological effects that the trauma experienced by people has on subsequent generations in that group. The primary modes of transmission are the uterine environment during pregnancy causing epigenetic changes in the developing embryo, and the shared family environment of the infant causing psychological, behavioral and social changes in the individual. The term intergenerational transmission refers to instances whereby the traumatic effects are passed down from the directly traumatized generation [F0] to their offspring [F1], and transgenerational transmission is when the offspring [F1] then pass the effects down to descendants who have not been exposed to the initial traumatic event - at least the grandchildren [F2] of the original sufferer for males, and their great-grandchildren [F3] for females.

Journal therapy is a writing therapy focusing on the writer's internal experiences, thoughts and feelings. This kind of therapy uses reflective writing enabling the writer to gain mental and emotional clarity, validate experiences and come to a deeper understanding of themself. Journal therapy can also be used to express difficult material or access previously inaccessible materials.

Ambiguous loss is a loss that occurs without a significant likelihood of reaching emotional closure or a clear understanding. This kind of loss leaves a person searching for answers, and thus complicates and delays the process of grieving, and often results in unresolved grief. Some examples are infertility, termination of pregnancy, disappearance of a family member, death of an ex-spouse, and a family member being physically alive but in a state of cognitive decline due to Alzheimer's disease or dementia. An ambiguous loss can be categorized into two types of loss: physical or psychological. Physical loss and psychological loss differ in terms of what is being grieved for, the loss of the physical body, or the psychological mind. Experiencing an ambiguous loss can lead to personal questions, such as, "Am I still married to my missing spouse?," or "Am I still a child to a parent who no longer remembers me?". Since the grief process in an ambiguous loss is halted, it is harder to cope or move on to acceptance from the type of loss experienced. There are various types of grief that can occur due to the type of ambiguity experienced and corresponding therapy techniques to address the certain types of grief. The overall goal of therapy to cope with ambiguous loss is to overcome the trauma associated with it and restore resilience.

Rachel Yehuda is a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience, the vice chair for veterans affairs in the psychiatry department, and the director of the traumatic stress studies division at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She also leads the PTSD clinical research program at the neurochemistry and neuroendocrinology laboratory at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center. In 2020 she became director of the Center for Psychedelic Psychotherapy and Trauma Research at Mount Sinai.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meaning-making</span> Process of understanding changes in life

In psychology, meaning-making is the process of how people construe, understand, or make sense of life events, relationships, and the self.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christine Stephens</span> New Zealand ageing researcher

Christine Vivienne Stephens is a New Zealand psychology academic. She is currently professor of psychology at Massey University based in the Palmerston North. She is one of the founding members of the International Society of Critical Health Psychology, which she has also chaired. She is currently the society's treasurer.

Racial trauma, or race-based traumatic stress, is the cumulative effects of racism on an individual’s mental and physical health. It has been observed in numerous BIPOC communities and people of all ages, including young children. Racial trauma can be experiences vicariously or directly. It has been linked to feelings of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation, as well as other physical health issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trauma and first responders</span> Trauma experienced by first responders

Trauma in first responders refers to the psychological trauma experienced by first responders, such as police officers, firefighters, and paramedics, often as a result of events experienced in their line of work. The nature of a first responder's occupation continuously puts them in harm's way and regularly exposes them to traumatic situations, such as people who have been harmed, injured, or killed.

Roxane Cohen Silver is a social, health psychologist known for her work on personal, national, and international traumas and how people cope with these traumas. She holds the position of Vice Provost for Academic Planning & Institutional Research and Distinguished Professor of Psychological Science, Public Health, and Medicine at the University of California, Irvine.

Laurence J. Kirmayer is a Canadian psychiatrist and internationally recognized expert in culture and mental health. He is James McGill Professor and Director of the Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and the Royal Society of Canada

References

  1. ↑ Ani Kalayjian. "Forget Me Not: 7 Steps for Healing Our Body, Mind, Spirit, and Mother Earth". Goodreads.com. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Kalayjian, Ani; Eugene, Dominique (6 November 2010). Mass Trauma and Emotional Healing Around the World: Rituals and Practices for Resilience and Meaning-making. Praeger. ISBN   9780313375408 . Retrieved 6 November 2021– via Google Books.
  3. ↑ "Mass trauma and emotional healing around the world : rituals and practices for resilience and meaning-making - Eric Grunes - EdLab". EdLab.tc.columbia.edu. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  4. ↑ "In Loving Memory of Diramayr Zabell Kalayjian". The Armenian Weekly . 1 May 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  5. ↑ "Healing, growth and transformation. A conversation with Dr. Ani Kalayjian". Civilnet.am. 19 June 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  6. ↑ "Transforming Horizontal Violence in Haiti through 7-step Integrative Healing Model, and Forgiveness and Peace Gardens" (PDF). Humiliationstudies.org. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  7. ↑ VACCA, ANNDREW. "Professor Brings Therapy to Haiti". Fordhamobserver.com.
  8. ↑ "BronxNet Community Television, 2790 Goulden Avenue Carman Hall C19B, New York, NY (2021)". Globalnpo.org.
  9. ↑ Evans, Wyatt (7 August 2020). "Mental Health Challenges of a Global Pandemic: The Case of COVID-19". Traumapsychnews.com. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  10. ↑ "APA PsycNet". Psycnet.apa.org.
  11. ↑ Doran, Jennifer M.; Kalayjian, Ani; Toussaint, Loren; Mendez, Diana Maria (1 March 2014). "Posttraumatic Stress and Meaning Making in Mexico City". Psychology and Developing Societies. 26 (1): 91–114. doi:10.1177/0971333613516231. S2CID   145399493 . Retrieved 6 November 2021– via SAGE Journals.
  12. ↑ Kalayjian, Ani; Marrone, Stephen R.; Vance, Connie (1 October 2010). "Chapter 11: Professional Roles and Attributes of the Transcultural Nurse". Journal of Transcultural Nursing. 21 (4_suppl): 406S–417S. doi:10.1177/1043659610370341. S2CID   75280451 . Retrieved 6 November 2021– via SAGE Journals.
  13. ↑ Poyrazli, Senel; Thompson, Chalmer E. (30 April 2012). International Case Studies in Mental Health. SAGE. ISBN   9781412990356 . Retrieved 6 November 2021– via Google Books.
  14. ↑ "The weather is making us sad". The Washington Post . Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  15. ↑ "Your coping kit for another pandemic winter".
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