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    Categories: 2021

AGBU Holds First Virtual Resilience Summit to Help Armenians Cope with Crises

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Website: 

 
  
PRESS RELEASE
  
Friday, March 12, 2021
  
In response to the collective toll the global pandemic and the trauma of the 
Artsakh War has taken on Armenians everywhere, a virtual summit on the 
psycho-social dynamics of these transformative crises was organized by AGBU in 
conjunction with the American University of Armenia (AUA) and the Armenian 
Mental Health Initiative (AMHI). The two-part virtual event, which took place on 
February 21 and February 22, was hosted by the AGBU Armenian Virtual College 
(AVC), enabling a diverse panel of experts to connect with an audience of over 
200 participants across 26 countries. 

Each day's program was divided into multiple segments that explored different 
dimensions of coping with crisis-from social media overload and news 
misinformation, activism burnout, unresolved traumas triggered from previous 
tragedies in Armenian history, and second-hand wounds from relentless reports 
with disturbing news and imagery from the homeland. Every session featured a 
panel of authorities in relevant fields, from licensed mental health 
professionals and researchers to educators and media specialists. They not only 
analyzed the issues at play but also provided practical solutions and words of 
inspiration, based on their current professional wisdom and experiences, both 
clinical and personal. 

In explaining the motivation behind the summit, AGBU Central Board Member and 
education specialist Lena Sarkissian, stated, "Wars do not simply end on the day 
of truce, they live in the collective mind, and thus, shape the future 
perspective of a people," adding that turning to the community of experts would 
help explore the transformative power of resilience building. "It is a tangled 
interplay of experiences and coping skills, a complex dynamic between lived 
experiences and the resources available to manage, adapt, and most importantly, 
thrive."

The first session, moderated by journalist and thought leader Lara Setrakian, 
tackled the war's effect on the soul with psychotherapist and author Dr. Edward 
Tick, an expert on moral injury and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for 
veterans in his course, War and the Soul: Healing a Wounded Society. Dr. Tick 
pointed out the similarities civilians might share with those returning from 
war, asserting that both experience a damaged soul and must hide wounds seen and 
unseen. The cure for a broken spirit, Dr. Tick concluded, can be found with 
spirituality in community. "It's absolutely essential that you bring that wisdom 
back, share it with society, help everybody become initiated to what war and 
violence really do, and become a teacher and a servant for healing. And that 
will restore your purpose," Dr. Tick concluded. 

While this panel examined how to rewire the soul, the next panel Managing Grief, 
moderated by educator and nonprofit director Nanor Balabanian, focused on how to 
rewire our brains. In a conversation with licensed marriage and family 
therapists Debi Jenkins Frankle, Mark Frankle, and Tamar Sevajian, in addition 
to trauma specialist Keghani Mardikian, the focus was mending old wounds. 
Panelists agreed that using different forms of strength-based therapy-most 
importantly restoration therapy- can aid in the healing process. "We often 
replay moments of powerlessness until we understand how to interrupt that 
pattern," said Sevajian, concluding with: "Only then are we able to move into a 
peace cycle based in our truth." 

The conversation moved to consider the crucial role of digital media in the 
Artsakh War and the subsequent toll it took on social channel users confronted 
by constant Azeri-backed misinformation campaigns, traumatizing pictures of war, 
and a fixed attachment to our screens. 

The next panel Don't Just Yell at the Internet: Overcoming Social/Media 
Triggers, moderated by educator Dr. Ani Shabazian, featured licensed marriage 
and family therapist and anger management specialist Anita Avedian, and 
psychiatrist Lara G. Shirikjian and Lara Setrakian. They honed in on techniques 
to avoid such triggers during a social media frenzy. 

For journalist Setrakian, the answer is as simple as tailoring one's 
"information diet" and turning down the volume of news for extended periods of 
time. "You don't have to read everything; you don't even have to watch 
everything," she posited. "You can pull back and save your energy." While 
obsessive social media consumption is a pressing issue that will likely affect 
future generations to come, the next panel, moderated by EBM specialist Yerado 
Abrahamian, took a step back to focus on the trauma we've inherited from our 
ancestors and how to move forward with these physiological and psychological 
changes. 

Intergenerational Pain: Anxiety, Uncertainty and Quieting the Inner Critic, with 
licensed clinical psychologist and founding executive director of AMHI Yeraz 
Markarian, along with licensed clinical psychologist and executive co-director 
of AMHI Valentina Ogaryan, addressed the use of social connections as an 
"emotional vitamin" and how to use hope to achieve resilience-building. Ogaryan 
aptly stated: "Resilience is the ability to bounce back and to move forward. We 
are impacted by adversity. It means that we have obstacles as human beings that 
we need to overcome." 

Recognizing that laughter can often be the best medicine to relieve stress and 
sorrow, there seemed to be no better way to end the first day of the summit than 
with actor, artist, and writer Vahe Berberian, globally recognized for his 
sharp-witted humor and stand-up comic sets. Berberian's philosophical premise 
was resilience as love, and consequentially love as art, which can heal our 
nation. "We should take a close look at ourselves in the mirror, both 
individually and as a nation, because our national character is the sum total of 
what we are individually."

After a welcome by Dr. Varduhi Petrosyan, Dean of the AUA Turpanjian School of 
Public Health, the second day's sessions began with a look at the resilience of 
the genocide generation with Dr. Roberta Ervine, professor of Armenian Christian 
Studies at the St. Nersess Seminary. She examined the role of blame and guilt 
among survivors of genocide, an all too familiar feeling for Armenians today who 
lived through the first war, the earthquake, the Lebanon explosion, and now the 
Artsakh War. Yet, random acts of kindness, community, and resilience have 
historically banded our nation together-a lesson that can be applied today. "All 
of you who are present already are called upon to do the same in this 
generation," said Dr. Ervine. "May you find the immoral fortitude to take the 
threads in your hands by doing what seems to need doing, simply because you are 
the ones here to do it." 

The following panel examined the present-day situation with a look at What We're 
Seeing Right Now, How We're Coping, moderated by child psychiatrist Dr. Louis M. 
Najarian, featuring discussants Dr. Khachatur Gasparyan and Dr. Sevan Minassian, 
a psychologist and psychiatrist from Armenia and France, respectively. Through 
the lenses of a local and disaporan, both have observed first-hand how to 
overcome the sense of hopelessness in Armenia. The only way to confront such 
feelings, all panelists concluded, is to acknowledge the pain, thereby creating 
both tolerance and confidence. As Dr. Minassian put it, "We have to negotiate 
with our feelings of powerlessness with the war. As Diasporans, we have to deal 
with our cultural countertransference. We have to take this into account and 
decentralize ourselves with reflectivity." 

In natural succession, the next panel of the day answered the question on 
everyone's mind: Where Are We Going? Delving into strategic mechanisms to move 
towards post-traumatic growth, licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Ani Karayan, 
AUA adjunct professor Dr. Vahe Khachadourian, and psychiatrist Dr. Najarian 
concluded that looking at disaster studies from the past can help inform trained 
professionals on how to bounce back in the present, using targeted interventions 
that address specific needs in the population. Dr. Khachadourian summarized it 
best: "A lesson we can learn from this is practicing and promoting 
individual-level factors; education, positive thinking, and mindfulness. We want 
to advocate for efficient and evidence-based targeted interventions." 

The final panel of the summit focused on shaping the future of Armenia with 
success and Resilience in Business and Life. AGBU Central Board Member and 
Founding President of AVC Dr. Yervant Zorian moderated the conversation with 
senior manager of research and development at Synopsys Armenia Hripsime 
Hakobyan, business coach and prosperity mentor Rita Hovakimian and global 
branding expert Vasken Kalayjian. The panel discussed best practices for good 
business and successful lifestyles, including meditation, creating values-based 
organizations, and cultivating optimism. "When difficult things happen in life, 
unless we have the strong muscle of resilience, and an optimistic way of dealing 
with difficult situations, we will self-sabotage," said Kalayjian, who has 
witnessed the downfall of businesses due to the unresolved personal issues of 
CEOs.  "Exercising a vision and building value around that is key, which can 
translate that into our personal lives," he suggested. 

Dr. Zorian, in his closing remarks, noted that the participant demographics 
covered all age groups and an array of countries. "This shows us that resilience 
is a need, whatever age group or country we are in," he said, after which he 
announced plans are underway to host a subsequent resilience summit in the 
Armenian language in spring. 

Positive and congratulatory comments in the virtual chat room reinforced how 
necessary and overdue this event was for the Armenians in communities across the 
globe. In an intentional move to continue the conversation on healthy coping in 
times of extreme crisis, the resources and advice provided by panelists are 
accessible on The Resilience Summit portal on the AVC platform at 
(https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.avc-agbu.org__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!_j7TwdxdLHYn88ubFxsuhdbBzx5BonjS1e-XNdZYolmvvNOvAzuAsH-3D4Np-Q$
 ). 

The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) is the world's largest non-profit 
organization devoted to upholding the Armenian heritage through educational, 
cultural and humanitarian programs. Each year, AGBU is committed to making a 
difference in the lives of 500,000 people across Armenia, Artsakh and the 
Armenian diaspora.  Since 1906, AGBU has remained true to one overarching goal: 
to create a foundation for the prosperity of all Armenians. To learn more visit 

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Anna Tamamian: