Within the framework of the program “Rights, Services, Participation: Promoting a Comprehensive Framework for Mental Health in Armenia”, on July 13–14, the Armenian Mental Health Association (AMHA) launched the first stage of the professional development program for school psychologists in general education institutions of Armenia for 2024–2026, with the initial event - the two-day training of trainers.

 

The program is funded by the European Union and implemented in partnership with the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor Office, the Armenian Mental Health Association, the  Democracy Development Foundation, the Disability Rights Agenda NGO, and in cooperation with the Ministries of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, Health, and Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia.

 

The aim of the training is to foster the professional and personal development of school psychologists, enhance their role within the educational system, support them in responding professionally to students’ difficulties and teachers’ concerns, and empower them to become an important link in the relationships between students, teachers, parents, school administration, and the community.

 

The AMHA-led training program is designed as a phased process in the following sequence:

• Application phase for participation in the training-of-trainers program, during which up to 50 participants will be selected.
   
• Two-day training, at the end of which 25 of the 50 participants will be chosen.
   
• Six-day training, for the selected 25 psychologists, who will then serve as trainers and share the knowledge and skills acquired during the program with school psychologists across Armenia (in line with the program budget, these trainers will provide paid services in all regions of the country).
   
• Implementation phase (2024–2026): the trained psychologist-trainers will conduct capacity-building sessions for school psychologists throughout Armenia, according to the established schedule.
   

The opening of the event featured welcome remarks from Aram Hovsepyan, President of AMHA; Anahit Muradyan, Chief Specialist at the General Education Department of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Armenia; and Haykuhi Adamyan, Deputy Director of the Republican Pedagogical-Psychological Center.

 

Over the course of the two-day training, the 50 participants engaged in an intensive and substantive program. Those who advance to the next stage will take part in six days of comprehensive training on diverse topics, after which they will be prepared to transfer the acquired knowledge and skills to school psychologists in both the capital and the regions of Armenia.