My work has focused on the different aspects of biological and psychological interactions, and more specifically bio-social vulnerability and environmental stress. I have conducted research on the effect of birth complications in children of schizophrenic mothers, on early mother-infant interaction, on psychosomatic processes in stress-related disorders, on the bio-psycho-social stresses of migration, on the physical and mental health of immigrant women, and on the treatment of post-traumatic disorders. The question of diagnostic systems in psychiatry has been at the centre of my interest, and I am presently working on the changes that have occurred in the nomenclature of diseases from neurasthenia, through so-called somatization disorders, to the burn-out syndrome of our days. Throughout my work, I have attempted to build bridges between literature and psychology, I am presently engaged in a study on the remembrance of place and time at the neuronal and phenomenological levels, based on recent neuroscientific research and the work of writers such as Marcel Proust and Orhan Pamuk.

My work has focused on the different aspects of biological and psychological interactions, more specifically bio-social vulnerability and environmental stress. I have conducted research on the effect of birth complications in children of schizophrenic mothers, on early mother-infant interaction, on psychosomatic processes in stress-related disorders, on the bio-psycho-social stresses of migration, on the physical and mental health of immigrant women, and on the treatment of post-traumatic disorders. The question of diagnostic systems in psychiatry has been at the centre of my interest, and I am presently working on the changes that have occurred in the nomenclature of diseases from neurasthenia, through so-called somatization disorders, to the burn-out syndrome of our days. Throughout my work, I have attempted to build bridges between literature and psychology, I am presently engaged in a study on the remembrance of place and time at the neuronal and phenomenological levels, based on recent neuroscientific research and the work of writers such as Marcel Proust and Orhan Pamuk.

education

• 1963 Baccalaureate, American College for Girls, Istanbul
• 1965 B.A., Smith College, Northampton, Mass.
• 1969 Mag.art. in psychology, University of Copenhagen
• 1994 Dr.phil., University of Copenhagen

appointments

• 1966-68 Research assistant, Psychological Institute, Kommunehospitalet, Copenhagen
• 1969-73 Assistant professor, Institute of Clinical Psychology, University of Copenhagen
• 1973-00 Associate professor, Institute of Clinical Psychology, University of Copenhagen
• 1997- Clinical supervisior for the treatment of traumatized and tortured refugees, (CEPAR and OASIS, Copenhagen)
• 2000-2012 Professor of transcultural clinical psychology at the Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen
• 2012-2018 Director of the Paris Institute of Advanced Study
• 2018-  Programme Director "Brain, Culture, and Society"

Danish

English

French

Turkish

Spanish