Supervisory board

Irina Pinchuk

Chairperson of the Supervisory Board

• The Chair Scientific Advisory Board
• Professor, MD,
• Director, Institute of Psychiatry of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv,
• President of the Ukrainian Psychiatric Association

Iryna Pinchuk is a well-known specialist, Doctor of Medicine, Senior Researcher, Director of the Institute of Psychiatry at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, President of the Association of Psychiatrists of Ukraine, Head of the National Chapter of the International Society of Addiction Professionals (ISSUP) in Ukraine. Author of 163 scientific papers in the field of psychiatry, organisation of psychiatric care, including 32 publications in English in periodicals included in the Scopus and/or Web of Science databases, and has a personal profile in one of the most prestigious professional journals The Lancet Psychiatry. He is the author of 5 monographs.

Richard Bryant

• AC,  BA (Hons), MPsych, PhD, DSc, FAA, FASSA, FAPS, FAAHMS

Richard Bryant is a Scientia Professor of Psychology at the University of New South Wales, Sydney and Director of the Traumatic Stress Clinic. Professor Bryant’s research has focused on the nature and treatment of stress and grief. He has identified key genetic, neural, and psychological factors underpinning stress reactions and strategies to manage them. His assessment and treatment protocols have been translated into over 15 languages and used in many countries. Professor Bryant has written 6 books, 87 book chapters, and 840 journal articles.  He has worked with many military and  first responder agencies in managing traumatic stress.  He also served on panels to develop traumatic stress diagnoses for ICD-11 and DSM-5.

Roméo Dallaire

Honorary Member of the Supervisory Board

• Canadian senator, writer, and retired General,  
• Commander of the UN Peacekeeping Forces in Rwanda from 1993 to 1994

Romeo Dallaire is a renowned advocate for human rights worldwide, as well as an author, lecturer, leadership consultant, international advisor, former Canadian Senator, and founder of the “La Foundation Roméo Dallaire” and the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace, and Security.

During his distinguished military career, General Dallaire served as the Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda during the 1994 genocide. He continues to work tirelessly to draw national and international attention to often-overlooked issues, whether it be the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder and moral injury on security force veterans and their families, the search for strategic solutions for achieving lasting peace, or the prevention of mass atrocities and the recruitment and use of children in armed conflicts.

Jana Javakhishvili

• Professor of Psychology
• Director of the Institute of Addiction Studies at Ilia State University, Tbilisi

Jana is a clinical psychologist who has been working in trauma research, training, and treatment since 1995. Since 2002, she has been heavily engaged in the field of conflict transformation as a facilitator of peacebuilding processes in Georgia and the South Caucasus. In June 2013, she was elected president of the Georgian Society of Psychotrauma, and in July of the same year, she became a Board of Directors Member and Secretary of the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.

Robert Keukens

• Mental Health Consultant to the Federation Global Initiative on Psychiatry, Oosterbeek,

Rob Keukens is a Mental Health Consultant to the Federation Global Initiative on Psychiatry and a Policy Officer at the GGZ Ecademy in the Netherlands.

He has been active in mental health care since 1975, particularly at the intersection of education and mental health. Robert has been working with FGIP since 1992.

Igor Koutsenok

• MD
• Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California San Diego
• Director of the UCSD Center for Addiction Research, Training and Application
• Director of the International Addiction Technology Transfer Center-Ukraine
• Vice-President of the International Consortium of Universities on Drug Demand Reduction

Obtained a degree in addiction psychiatry at the University of London, Department of Addictive Behavior and Psychological Medicine at St. Georges Hospital Medical School. In 1996, he was recruited by the University of California San Diego, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and since then he serves as faculty member of the Department. In 2013-2016 he served as Chief of Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, United Nations Office in Vienna. Dr. Koutsenok is also a member of the International Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT). Over the last 25 years Dr. Koutsenok led the design and implementation of multiple training and technical assistance programs for mental health and addiction treatment practitioners, primary health care and social work practitioners, criminal justice professionals in the United States and around the world. For many years, Dr. Koutsenok teaches general and addiction psychiatry to medical students, psychiatry residents, psychology trainees, social workers, criminal justice professionals, and policy makers around the world. He is a recipient of numerous national and international awards. He has authored and co-authored over 60 scientific publications, one monograph, and contributed to 5 books.

Deirdre MacManus

• PhD, Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist    

Dr Deirdre MacManus is a Clinical Reader at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, where she has been a clinical academic since 2009.

Her current research interests include psychological trauma, particularly complex trauma, the diagnosis and treatment of Complex PTSD, understanding its sequelae in forensic populations, and the practice of Trauma Informed Care.

She has a particular interest in military trauma and mental health and has conducted extensive research with King’s Centre for Military Health Research, particularly on Domestic Abuse within the military community. She co-leads the Forensic Research Group, serves as a module leader on the Forensic Mental Health MSc, and supervises both PhD and MSc level research students.

Nino Makhashvili

• Professor of Healthcare at Ilia State University,  Director of the Global Initiative on Psychiatry -Tbilisi  

Nino has expertise in clinical, academic, and service development within the fields of community mental health care and post-emergency psychosocial response areas.   As the Professor of Healthcare and the Head of the Mental Health Center, Nino is actively involved in academic teaching and research activities. She is one of the founders and a Director of the Master’s Program on Mental Health and a co-director of the doctoral program on public health.   Nino serves as a senior mental health expert at WHO Europe and the Council of Europe, where she is involved in building the capacity of various professionals across different countries.She is an honorary member of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA).  

Marie-Claude Michaud

• A leader with over 20 years’ experience in a patriarchal, hierarchical, and predominantly male environment: the Canadian Armed Forces

Marie-Claude is a leader with over 20 years of experience in a patriarchal, hierarchical, and predominantly male environment: the Canadian Armed Forces. Over those years, she and the organization she led became nationally recognized for their excellence and expertise.   From that experience, Ms. Michaud spent years developing and testing a new philosophy of leadership that put people first: Leadership Bienveillant.   Throughout her career, Marie-Claude Michaud has trained, supervised, directed, and coached many people, and she has witnessed how different generations view their work and their role within an organization.

David Pedlar

• Scientific Director of the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research,
• Professor in the School of Rehabilitation Therapy at Queen’s University.

Dr. David Pedlar has dedicated his career to advancing the care and well-being of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Veterans.

After working as a clinician, he spent fifteen years as the national director of research for Veterans Affairs Canada.

He has held the positions of adjunct professor at the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Prince Edward Island and the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University.

In 2015, he received his second Fulbright Scholar Award as the visiting research chair in military social work at the University of Southern California, where he continues as an internationally affiliated faculty member at the Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families. Dr. Pedlar has received several honors and awards for his work in military and Veteran health. His research interests include improving military-to-civilian transition and enhancing veteran well-being after military service.

Rachel Thibeault

• Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa
• Therapist, Professor, community developer and activist for health and social justice

An occupational therapist with a Ph.D. in psychology, Rachel Thibeault was a professor at the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa, Canada, for nearly three decades.

She has developed expertise in psychological resilience and peer support in complex situations, such as conflict and post-conflict areas, and has worked worldwide as a clinician, researcher, and trainer.

In recognition of her contributions to the mental health field, she has received the title of Officer of the Order of Canada, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Society for International Health, and Honorary Degrees. She is now a consultant, providing training and support in a variety of domains, from medical agencies and governmental organizations to war and cancer survivors, among others.

Eric Vermetten

• MD, PhD, Professor of Medical-Biological and Psychiatric Aspects of Psychotrauma

Prof dr. Eric Vermetten is a clinical psychiatrist working with veterans and other uniformed officers as the Strategic Advisor of Research at the Military Mental Health Service with the Dutch Ministry of Defense and ARQ National Psychotrauma Center.   He holds an endowed chair in Psychiatry at the Department of Psychiatry at Leiden UMC. He also has an Adjunct Professorship at the Department of Psychiatry of New York UMC.   He is trained in psychiatry and neuroscience in the Netherlands and the USA (Stanford, Yale, and Emory University).   He holds both clinical and research positions with a focus on medical/biological and psychiatric aspects of complex psychotrauma in military as well as civilian populations.   He has published over 200 papers and over 30 book chapters and has edited several books on this topic.   His research focuses on stress, trauma, complex PTSD, and neuroscience. He is interested in the history of war and specializes in combining biological-based interventions in psychotraumatology with novel technology and drug developments.

Robert van Voren

• Executive Director of “Human Rights in Mental Health – FGIP,”
• Professor of Political Science,
• Director of the Andrei Sakharov Research Center for Democratic Development at Vytautas Magnus University

Robert van Voren is a human rights activist, Sovietologist, and historian. He serves as a Professor of Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania, and as a Visiting Professor at the University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland. Additionally, he is the Executive Director of the international foundation “Human Rights in Mental Health – Global Initiative on Psychiatry” and the Andrei Sakharov Research Center for Democratic Development at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania.

Simon Wessely

• Professor of Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London,
• Vice Dean for Academic Psychiatry, Director of the King’s Centre for Military Health Research

Professor Simon Wessely is the first psychiatrist to be awarded a Regius professorship – an honor bestowed by the Queen. He is a Professor of Psychological Medicine at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience at King’s College London and a consultant psychiatrist at King’s College Hospital and the Maudsley Hospital.