In memory
Who was Diruhi?
Diruhi S. Matevosian Nalbandian (later Mattian), 1953 to 2008
Diruhi S. Matevosian Nalbandian (later Mattian) was born in Yerevan, Armenia in 1953. She graduated from the Romance and Germanic Philology Department of Moscow State University and conducted research toward a PhD in Neurolinguistics, publishing several articles in the field. She moved to Boston, Massachusetts in 1989 with her husband and two young daughters and earned a second Master's degree in social work from Simmons College, one of America's top social work programs.
She became a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) and practiced as a psychotherapist at McLean Hospital, one of the best hospitals for mental health care and research in the United States. She later joined Family Continuity Programs, becoming a director in 2001, while also running a private practice and working as a psychotherapist in several other mental health facilities.
Diruhi was well respected for her work with adolescents, adults, couples and families. She specialized in treating psychological trauma, mood disorders, depression and anxiety spectrum disorders, drawing on EMDR, Internal Family Systems, Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Cognitive Behavior Therapy.
She was a source of inspiration and strength to her family, her colleagues, and all those whose lives she touched. She was a woman of uncommon valour, fiercely combating the forces of darkness in the lives of those suffering from mental illness, trauma and clinical depression. Those who knew her remember her as kind, compassionate, deeply faithful and nurturing.
Her life was cut short on February 6th, 2008, when a terrible incident took place with one of her patients. Though the circumstances of her death were incredibly tragic, we look forward, keeping her mission and vision alive for families and youth around the world, and especially in her homeland, Armenia.
