Humanitarian Crisis in Armenia and Artsakh

The mission of the Armenian American Mental Health Association (AAMHA) is to advocate for mental health in the Armenian community. Recent events in Artsakh represent not only a threat to the physical safety of the Armenian population driven out of their ancestral homeland, but also significant and severe threats to the psychological and emotional wellbeing of Armenians across the globe. AAMHA stands in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Artsakh and Armenia and with our Armenian colleagues who are working to provide aid and support to the more than 90,000 refugees. We are deeply troubled by the long and short-term psychological impacts of Azerbaijan’s 9- month blockade of Artsakh, their military assault, and the current attempt at ethnic cleansing. We condemn, in the strongest of terms, violations of the human rights, life, liberty, and dignity of the Armenian people of Artsakh. We are further deeply concerned about the resulting psychological trauma to a group of people who are now re-living the trauma of the 44-day War of 2020, during which more than 6,500 Armenians lost their lives, including civilians, women, and children. AAMHA offers its support to all those who are actively working to address the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh and calls our colleagues and allies to immediate action. AAMHA is working on raising awareness about the humanitarian crisis and ethnic cleansing of Armenians from their ancestral homeland among professional organizations. We will also announce our steps toward supporting the Armenian-American community and mental health providers in Armenia shortly. Please follow our social media accounts to be informed.

AAMHA Annual Conference: Call for Abstracts

The Armenian American Mental Health Association (AAMHA) will hold its annual conference on June 21 and 22, 2024. The conference aims to delve into mental health challenges, immigration, and displacement issues within the Armenian community and Artsakh. This year, the conference will take place in a hybrid format of Zoom and in-person sessions. Mental health professionals who are interested in presenting at the conference are encouraged to submit an abstract (Max. 250 words) and their CV to drgharibian@gmail.com. Abstracts and presentations may be in English or Armenian. The deadline to submit an abstract is April 30, 2024. Please spread the word among your networks and encourage your colleagues to apply. Sharing and commenting is strongly encouraged.

Applications are Accepted for 2024-2025 Board Openings

AAMHA is excited to announce that we have Board of Directors openings for 2024-2025 and are now accepting applications! We welcome all AAMHA members in good standing, regardless of their length of membership, to apply for these positions. More information about the board is available here: https://www.aamhawest.org/bylaws . Feel free to reach out to us at aamhawest@gmail.com with any questions. To apply, please submit a brief bio and a statement of intent to aamhawest@gmail.com by May 15th. The current board will then create a voting ballot and send it out via email to the membership for a vote. We are excited to have new members join our board and look forward to reading your applications! AAMHA is excited to announce that we have Board of Directors openings for 2024-2025 and are now accepting applications! We welcome all AAMHA members in good standing, regardless of their length of membership, to apply for these positions. More information about the board is available here: https://www.aamhawest.org/bylaws . Feel free to reach out to us at aamhawest@gmail.com with any questions. To apply, please submit a brief bio and a statement of intent to aamhawest@gmail.com by May 15th. The current board will then create a voting ballot and send it out via email to the membership for a vote. We are excited to have new members join our board and look forward to reading your applications!

Board’s Mid-Year Retreat

AAMHA Board Members organized a retreat on January 14th to review and evaluate the organization’s current functioning. Members brainstormed ideas on how to increase the organization’s potential for catering to its members’ needs. We finalized the organization’s plan for the remaining governing time. The year’s first event is a social gathering around coffee on Sunday, January 28th, at 11 am. Follow our social media accounts and stay tuned as we plan to host several more social and professional events in the upcoming months.

April’s Social Get Together

Armenian American Mental Health Association invites our members and their loved ones for a Saturday morning social event. Come out to enjoy morning coffee and mingle with other professionals. We look forward to seeing you.

Armenian Genocide Commemoration

On April 24th, we solemnly remember the Armenian Genocide-honoring the lives lost and the resilience of the survivors. We must continue to push for the worldwide acknowledgment of this dark chapter in Armenian history to ensure that such atrocities are never forgotten and to strive for a world where all people live free from fear, oppression, and persecution. We also recognize that this day can be especially challenging for our Armenian community, impacting mental health and reminding us of the inter-generational trauma endured, particularly in light of ongoing tensions along Armenia’s borders.