Therapists for Armenia
We are a group of volunteers from occupational, physical, and speech therapy backgrounds who strengthen rehabilitation and disability services in Armenia through inclusive, sustainable approaches. Our goals are to make international connections, strengthen service delivery, fight disability stigma, and help our Armenian communities thrive. Join us or donate to support our efforts!
*We are a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations are tax-deductible.
Our Mission and Vision
The mission for Therapists for Armenia (TFA) is to advance the fields of occupational, physical, and speech therapy, to promote inclusion of people with disabilities, and to foster well being within Armenian communities through education, collaboration, support, and advocacy.
We aim to shift societal perceptions and attitudes towards disability and rehabilitation within Armenian communities through sustainable, equitable, accessible, and evidence-based approaches.
Membership Form
If you are an occupational, physical, or speech therapist/assistant/student and are interested in helping Armenian communities, please complete our membership form below!
Community Initiatives
TFA Presents in Poland at the 1st Occupational Therapy Europe Congress 2024
October 20, 2024TFA founding director, Armineh Babikian (Canada), and IRF fellow, Tatev Ghazaryan (Armenia), presented at the 1st Occupational Therapy Europe Congress 2024 in Krakow, Poland. This congress brought together all European organizations dealing with occupational therapy. This was the only presentation about occupational therapy in Armenia.
Babikian and Ghazaryan’s presentation titled “Experiences of Armenian Rehabilitation Therapists in Implementing the ICF for Disability Determination” discussed the preliminary results of an ongoing research project looking the involvement of occupational therapists in the new disability determination process launched in Armenia in 2023. This research stemmed from Ghazaryan and colleague’s capstone project while participating in the NIH Armenia Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Fellowship (IRF), co-founded by TFA in 2022.
While the entire research team was not able to be present at the Congress, we would like to acknowledge the contributions of Lara Iskandaryan (Armenia), IRF Fellow and occupational therapist, and Mark Kovic, occupational therapy professor at Midwestern University (Illinois, USA).
Co-developing Armenia’s First Guide to Dressing & Feeding Aids
September 20, 2024We are very proud to have helped develop Armenia’s first “Guide to Dressing & Feeding Aids” with our partners at Disability Rights Agenda NGO. This was part of a larger EU grant aimed at supporting Artsakhtsis with disabilities in their transition to Armenia following forced displacement and genocide.
Dressing and feeding difficulties can be both short-term and long-term, affecting self-confidence, independence, and overall quality of life. These guides provides detailed information and step-by-step instructions on the various adaptive equipment that support independence in dressing. Download them for free in the Assistive Technology section of our Clinical Resource Library!
Collection of over 1000 Therapeutic Equipments to Donate to Armenia
June 10, 2024In July 2024, we will embark on our first service and learning trip as an organization. Several of our volunteers will be traveling to Armenia to collaborate with our partners on challenging cases, distribute therapeutic supplies that are not accessible in Armenia, and deliver rehabilitation workshops and hands-on training sessions. Our goal is to support high quality rehabilitation services and promote social inclusion for marginalized populations.
As a result of the support we received from our supporters, we are bringing over 1000 therapeutic supplies with us! We can’t thank you enough for all of your donations so far- both monetary and from our Amazon list.