Lyla Schwartz
Psychology Director

Lyla is a clinical psychology practitioner and researcher with expertise in childhood trauma, gender-based violence, childhood abandonment, war-conflict trauma, emergency psychological interventions and behavioral health. After working in the mental health sector in the United States, she engaged in critical frontline work in Haiti, South Africa, India, Peru, Thailand and Iraq with a focus on providing emergency psychological aid to youth traumatized by armed conflict, victimes of torture and exploitation and youth at risk of suicide. In Greece her work with vulnerable Afghan refugee youths spurred her to pursue emergency work in Afghanistan and since early 2018, she has been based in Kabul and engaged in frontline critical psychological care provision and has forged partnerships with Afghan hospitals, aid organizations and government agencies. Recognizing the need for structural and policy-level changes in order to improve the mental health and psychological care outlook of Afghanistan, Ms Schwartz has become increasingly focused on consulting work, first through the Etidal Foundation where she has served as Psychology Director, and then founding Peace of Mind Afghanistan, for which she serves as Executive Director. Ms Schwartz is currently engaged in critical research, assessments, training on sensitive issues such as psychological trauma and workplace harassment, advocacy with important sector stakeholders, in addition to monitoring and evaluation of projects.