Senior Erikson Scholar

Vamik D. Volkan, M.D.

Dr. Vamik D. Volkan, M.D. is an emeritus professor of psychiatry at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, an emeritus training and supervising analyst at the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute, a past president of the International Society of Political Psychology, the Virginia Psychoanalytic Society, the Turkish-American Neuropsychiatric Society and the American College of Psychoanalysts. He holds Honorary Doctorate degrees from Kuopio University, Finland and from Ankara University, Turkey.

For nearly three decades, Dr. Volkan has led interdisciplinary teams to various trouble spots around the world and has brought high-level ‘enemy’ representatives together for years-long unofficial dialogues. His work in the field has resulted in his developing new theories about large-group behavior in times of peace and war. Dr. Volkan was nominated four times for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 supported by letters from 27 countries. He has authored or coauthored forty books and has edited or co-edited ten more.