Board Member
Dr. Elvis Popaj is a clinical psychologist, psychotherapist, and lecturer with over fifteen years of experience in mental health and in supporting vulnerable communities. His career is built on a three-fold professional background: (1) as a specialist and later a director in residential services; (2) as a psychotherapist in private practice, where he provides individual therapy and clinical supervision; and (3) as a lecturer at various universities in the country, teaching clinically oriented subjects.
He has a long history of collaboration with national and international organizations, either as part of their staff or as a consultant. He has led trainings on trauma-informed care principles, crisis intervention, identification and referral of victims of abuse and trafficking, as well as burnout prevention for frontline professionals.
Dr. Popaj holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Tirana, is an Advanced Certified Schema Therapist and Supervisor (ISST), a certified Cognitive-Behavioral Therapist, and has completed training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Internal Family Systems (IFS). His research interests include early maladaptive schemas, anxiety, grief processes, and the psychosocial impact of trauma. Dr. Popaj is actively engaged in his private clinical practice.