My name is Melissa

Psychology, Bachelor of Science (4 years), Tulane University, USA

Service Work at Touro Hospital, Brain Traumatology Inpatient Department, 4 months

Master of Arts, (2 years), School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, USA

Master Thesis: Capacity Building for Effective Humanitarian Aid and Management 

Master of Liberal Arts, (2 years), Management, Harvard University, USA

• First female psychologist in the history of Turkish Red Crescent Society
• Worked at the Iraqi Border in 2003 as a refugee camp psychologist
• Worked at various disaster sites following earthquakes, terrorist attacks, hurricanes 
• Worked as a consultant for various United Nations organizations; UNICEF, UNHCR, UNDP in Turkey and in the USA
• Authored the first Oxfam America USA Contingency Plan
• Worked as a Humanitarian Coordinator in 6 Gulf Coast states following Hurricane Katrina 
• Provided psychological first aid to hundreds of emergency workers and media personnel following major disasters
• Founder and CEO of a small mental health charity in London that served the population affected by the Grenfell Tower disaster, including the emergency personnel and the NHS
• Served as a member of the Regional Leadership Council for Homelessness Prevention in Boston, USA  

AWARDS

• 2022 Award for Best Early Intervention 'Psychotherapists for Grenfell Support', Grenfell Trust, London, UK 
• Derek Bok Public Service Prize, Harvard University, USA   
• Dean's List Academic Achievement Award, Harvard University, USA
• Young Alumna Award for ongoing achievements, Tulane University, USA
• Scholarship, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, USA

SELECTED TRAINING

• Psychological First Aid, Trainer's Training, IFRC
• Mental Health First Aid, MHFA England 
• Mental Health First Aid for Veterans, MHFA England
• Positive Psychiatry and Mental Health, Online, University of Sydney
• Psychosocial emergency and immediate care, IFRC
• Intro to International Refugee Law, SPHERE standards, UNHCR
• Public Affairs in Disasters Certificate, American Red Cross
• Disaster Action Team, American Red Cross
• Abnormal Psychology, Bosphorus University

PUBLICATIONS

Columns written for various Turkish National Newspapers

• "New Orleans 6 months after Katrina"
• "Do you have a month for sustainable development?"
• "On Reviving Ophelia/Psychology of Contemporary Woman"
• "The purple hair anti-hero", on the suicide of Kurt Cobain

SELECTED TALKS

• British Psychological Society 'Community Psychology Festival', The University of Hertfordshire 
• Grenfell Mental Health Coordination Seminar, Organiser and Speaker, London 
• Mental Health Awareness, Gallo Huset, Aarhus, Denmark
• Psychological First Aid, Tulane University, Graduate Psychology Programme 
• Forum Istanbul Conference, Istanbul, Turkey

As a practising Psychotherapist in Denmark, I receive regular Supervision and self therapy and I follow Danish Psychotherapist Association Ethics Rules. I am also a member of the American Psychological Association.