Dr. Violet Hovsepian Mesrkhani
About Dr. Violet Hovsepian Mesrkhani
Dr. Violet H. Mesrkhani is a licensed psychologist who earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University, Los Angeles in 2007. She earned her Master’s degree in Psychology from Pepperdine University in 1999 and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from UCLA in 1993.
Her psychotherapy treatment approaches include psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, culturally sensitive, as well as systemic, i.e. assessing and treating psychological problems looking at the whole picture of the family rather than isolated parts.
After working with different patient populations of varying ages and cultural backgrounds, Dr. Mesrkhani found her passion in child, adolescent and family psychotherapy.
Her professional experience over the past 12 years taught her that psychotherapy for a child, teen or adult is often more effective when considering the contextual framework of the family and the dynamics of the relationships within the family. She specializes in play therapy, effective parenting techniques, as well as cognitive-behavioral treatment methods.
Her other professional experiences include:
- Instructor and consultant of the Tobacco Use, Prevention & Education Program of the Glendale Unified School District (G.U.S.D.) teaching tobacco-prevention & cessation classes to middle and high school students, as well as presenting workshops to their parents in her efforts of community outreach. (2005 – Present)
- Adjunct Faculty Member at California State University, Los Angeles, Dept. of Psychology (2014, 2016)
- NTT Assistant Professor at Occidental College, Dept. of Psychology (2016)
Community Involvement:
- G.U.S.D. Safe & Drug-free Schools Advisory Committee Member
- Strategic Partners Network of the YMCA of the Foothills
- Chairperson of the G.U.S.D. Healthy Start Collaborative (2010-2012)
- Community Award by the Glendale Character & Ethics Project and local legislators for her outstanding commitment to character & ethics (2015)
Publications:
Her research experience at UCLA led to several medical journal publications on the topics of understanding childhood grief, as well as PTSD among adolescent organ transplant recipients, and parents of transplant recipients:
Mintzer, L., Stuber, M., Seacord, D., Castañeda, M., Mesrkhani, V., Glover, D., (2005). Traumatic Stress Symptoms in Adolescent Organ Transplant Recipients. Pediatrics, 115(6):1640-4.
Young, G., Mintzer, L, Castañeda, M., Seacord, D. Mesrkhani, V., Stuber, M. (2003). Posttraumatic response to pediatric organ transplantation in mothers. Pediatrics
Young, G., Mintzer, L., Seacord, D., Castañeda, M., Mesrkhani, V., Stuber, M. (2003). Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Parents of Transplant Recipients: Incidence, Severity, and Related Factors. Pediatrics, 111,(6): 725-731. www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/111/6/e725
Stuber, M., Mesrkhani, V. (2001). “What do we tell the children?” Understanding Childhood Grief. Western Journal of Medicine, 174, 187-191.
www.ewjm.com/cgi/content/full/174/3/187