Hellenic American University proudly hosted the 63rd Annual Conference of the European Branch of the American Counseling Association (EB-ACA) on October 21-22, 2022. The hybrid event, which brought together academics and mental health professionals from around the world, was held at the University’s Athens campus and coordinated on-site by Dr. Alessandra Sax, Associate Professor of Psychology at Hellenic American University and Director of the Psychology programs and the Counseling Center.

The theme of this year’s conference was “Moving through Together: Addressing a Changing World”. The two-day event featured 40 talks, poster presentations, and panel discussions that explored international counselling and social justice issues in a wide range of counselling disciplines. The conference’s keynote address, delivered by Drs. Joshua Kreimeyer and Carol M. Smith, explored training for trauma counselling in the context of the war in Ukraine.

The University’s faculty, staff, and alumni were well-represented at the conference. Dr. Sax was joined by adjunct faculty member and coordinator of the University Counseling Center, Dr. Maria Agorastou, in a roundtable session where they presented case studies of using creative art and mindfulness in treating trauma. Aikaterini Aranitou (MSPSY ’23) presented her research on mental resilience during military service in an award-winning poster presentation, and Arthur Antonopoulos (MSPSY ‘22) delivered a talk on deciphering deception signals. Six students from the undergraduate and graduate psychology programs served as volunteers during the conference.

In the words of Dr. Sax, the 63rd EB-ACA Conference was an unqualified success: “The fruitful exchange and positive collaboration at the conference,” she says, “helped strengthen existing ties between Greece, Hellenic American University/Hellenic American College with the EB-ACA organization.”

Image: University welcomes mental health professionals from Europe and the US for 63rd EB-ACA Conference

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We are delighted to announce the launch of a new addition to Hellenic American University’s graduate programs: the M.S. in Stress and Health Management (MSSHM).

The program has been designed by Professor George P. Chrousos, one of the world’s leading experts in the biology and medicine of stress and one of the 100 most cited biomedical scientists internationally.

The MSSHM was licensed in February 2020 by the New Hampshire’s Department of Education, Division of Educator Support and Higher Education -- Higher Education Commission and is addressed to candidates who have an undergraduate degree in any subject. Psychologists, mental health counselors, life coaches, HR professionals, teachers, physicians, nurses, nutritionists, coaches, fitness trainers, wellness consultants, physical therapists and social workers are some of the professionals who can especially benefit from the program. The fact that the MSSHM is conducted exclusively in English makes it extremely useful to professionals who provide services to people of diverse population groups and nationalities and to health professionals working in tourist destinations.

The M.S. in Stress and Health Management aims to bring together students from diverse backgrounds—from teachers and mental health counselors to social workers and dieticians. The HR professional who needs to empower a team to better manage workplace stress and improve productivity. The coach who wants to help athletes build positive coping mechanisms to handle competitive stress. The physical therapist interested in expanding the range of therapeutic tools for managing pain. The structure and content of the program has been designed to use this diversity of expertise and prior education to create a stimulating learning environment for all participants.

Τhis interdisciplinary program draws on courses in the life sciences and psychology to help students build a strong understanding of the stress system and its role in health and disease. The program provides you with in-depth knowledge of the science of stress and the role of stress in chronic non-communicable and other diseases. You’ll become familiar with instruments to identify and evaluate stress. You’ll also acquire the practical skills to apply evidence-based stress management methods for individuals and groups in a variety of settings.

The MSSHM brings together core faculty of biomedical scientists and expert practitioners in clinical psychology, nutrition, psychotherapy and management. They include (in alphabetical order): Dr. Aristidis Charonis, collaborating investigator at the University Research Institute for Maternal and Child Health and Precision Medicine, Professor George Chrousos, Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics and Endocrinology, Director of the Research Institute for Maternal and Child Health and Precision Medicine, and head of the unit on Clinical and Translational Research in Endocrinology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens School of Medicine, Dr. Evi Hatziandreou, Senior Director, Health Policy and Market Access, Dr. George Paltoglou, pediatric endocrinologist, Dr. Anna Papageorgiou, nutritionist in the Department of Childhood Obesity at Mitera Hospital, Dr. Harikleia Stefanaki, pediatrician and post-doctoral researcher at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, Dr. Effie Tsilibary, Associate Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Dr. Liza Varvogli, psychologist and psychotherapist.

Studying at Hellenic American College/Hellenic American University does not require the physical presence of the student in Athens or Nashua, but it allows attending courses in a hybrid class, with great interactive capabilities due to the use of the Blackboard Ultra platform.

Courses start in October and applications are open. For more information contact the Office of Admissions through email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via phone at +30 2103680950.

Dr. Alessandra Sax, Assistant Professor and Director of the Hellenic American University’s Psychology programs and the Counseling Center, led a day-long workshop on trauma and the expressive arts at the Spring 2022 Learning Institute, organized by the European Branch of the American Counseling Association (EB-ACA). Sax spoke as a guest professor at the Institute, which was held for the first time this year in hybrid mode at Edinburgh, Scotland and online, May 13-14, 2022. In her workshop, Sax explored the ways in which the creative and expressive arts can be used in child play therapy (and with adolescents and adults) and their role as a means for self-expression and self-discovery.

EB-ACA is a partnership of counseling professionals who share a commitment to developing a deeper understanding of the counseling profession and fostering public confidence and trust in its practice. The Learning Institute is among the most important events the Association organizes during the year.

We are excited to announce the 63rd Annual European Branch of the American Counseling Association (EB-ACA) Conference, which will be held at the Athens campus of Hellenic American University on October 21st-22nd, 2022.

This year's conference theme is "Moving through together: Addressing a changing world." The Conference’s Scientific Committee welcomes proposals that address diverse issues in disciplines such as clinical mental health counseling, professional school counseling, career counseling, rehabilitation counseling, college counseling, higher education advising, and marriage, couples and family counseling. Preference will be given to proposals that reflect this year's conference theme, address international counseling issues, and tackle social justice and advocacy.

The conference is an excellent opportunity for professional development. Graduate students and faculty can submit proposals for up to two sessions. Undergraduate students can submit and present a poster.

Proposals should be submitted via this online form by July 6th, 2022.

If you have questions or comments, contact the Association at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

EB-ACA is continuing to monitor COVID-19 and will communicate any updates on the 2022 EB-ACA Conference.

Image: Poster of the 63rd EB-ACA Conference

A Call for Papers has been announced for the 1stTerra (in) Cognita International Conference, which Hellenic American University is organizing for November 10-13, 2022 in Athens, Greece. The theme for this year’s conference, which is supported by the Terra Foundation for American Art in Chicago, U.S, is Dialogues between Greek Culture and Modern American Art.

The Conference will feature research on cross-cultural exchange between modern American art and aspects of Greek culture, such as myth, ancient tragedy, Byzantine art and architecture, and symbolism. In its Call for Papers, recently published on the Conference website, the Conference’s Scientific Committee is inviting researchers, artists, graduate and postgraduate to submit abstracts for papers and poster sessions as well as proposals for themed panels.

The deadline to submit an abstract is June 30th, 2022. The detailed Call for Papers and submission guidelines can be found on the official website.

Contact Information: For any questions, please contact the organizing committee at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Conference Website: https://terra.hauniv.edu/

Image: James M. Lane, Emersion 2021, video installation.

Eleni Plemmenou, a 4th-year student in the B.S. in Psychology program, has been chosen to take part in a special youth session of the 31st EURASHE Annual Conference in Brussels this May. She is one of the ten university students from applicants from across Europe that EURASHE, the EU-funded European Association of Institutions in Higher Education, selected to participate in the conference and whose travel and accommodation costs it will cover.

This year’s conference, which will be held on the campus of EPHEC in Brussels May 23-24, is titled “Next Generation PHE: Skills relevance, Inclusion, Digitalisation, Innovation”. It will focus on how professional higher education can help Europe “build back better” as it emerges from the COVID pandemic. The creation of the special session this year—the European Year of Youth—reflects EURASHE’s wish to “put students and young people at the centre of these discussions and co-create the future of higher education together.”

Seema Regmi, an MBA student at our Nashua campus who hails from Nepal, has been formally accepted for Lehigh University’s 2022 Iacocca Global Village program.

Global Village is an intensive virtual and on-site summer program that teaches university students and young professionals entrepreneurship and leadership skills while preparing them to thrive in a global community.

Seema starts her program mid-May virtually and then will attend the five-week on-campus residency at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania before returning to Nashua for her MBA studies, where she will complete the final five-week virtual segment.

Each year, about 60 – 90 university students and young professionals from roughly 40 countries are selected to attend the Global Village program. Given the diversity of the student body as well as learning experiences such as team consulting projects and design challenges, Seema and her fellow “global villagers” can also expect to develop their interdisciplinary teamwork and cross-cultural leadership skills. With an alumni body of over 2,300 leaders from 141 countries, the Global Village experience is also an exceptional networking opportunity for participants.

Image: Lehigh University Packard Lab by Chris Knight, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

University Executive Vice-President and CFO Dr. Leonidas Tzonis has been named an honorary professor at the Warsaw University of Business. He received the title during a special ceremony at the university on April 29th.

Dr. Tzonis was in Warsaw as part of a contingent of university officials who had been invited by the Polish Parliament and MP Daniel Milewski in the context of furthering international educational relations. Among the other members of the delegation was the rector of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Professor Nikos Papaioannou.

During their stay in Warsaw, the delegation was received by the Polish Minister of Education and Science Mr. Przemysław Czarnek and met with the rector of the University of Warsaw, Alojzy Nowak and parliamentary officials.

Image: Dr. Leonidas Tzonis named honorary professor at Warsaw University of Business

Two recent international graduates of the MBA program have been sponsored by their employer for the United States H-1B lottery in March 2022. The two alumni, Syed Imthiyas and Naveed Mohammed Khan, both of whom came to the University's Nashua campus with a promising background in information technology, were sponsored by the Houston-based firm CloudEnd Platform. They will be working as DevOps engineers on cloud-based platform solutions.

University President Leonidas Koskos has announced plans to establish a Center for Teaching Excellence to foster faculty development at the Athens and Nashua campuses. In an email sent to faculty last Wednesday (November 17), President Koskos stressed the pivotal role that effective teaching and technology together plan in the University’s ability to serve its mission. The creation of the Center, he added, will also allow the University to network with similar bodies at other colleges and universities and benefit from shared knowledge and opportunities for collaboration.

The Center will offer in-house seminars on topics such as attending to the learning needs of different student groups, promoting student creativity, and facilitating active learning across modalities, such as online synchronous classes or hybrid teaching. It will also host workshops and presentations from education experts. In addition, plans foresee a mentoring program for young faculty who are beginning their teaching careers.

Responsibility for implementing the project will be shared by University Provost Dr. Themis Kaniklidou, and the Dean for Digital Learning and Educational Innovation, Dr. Dimitris Tolias.

The creation of the Center is the latest in a series of major investments in educational infrastructure at the University. It follows upon a major upgrade of the institution’s eLearning platform, Blackboard, the creation of a high-speed wireless network on campus, and the refitting of classrooms in the Massalias 22 buildings as smart hybrid classrooms that can seamlessly accommodate the simultaneous teaching of onsite and online students. The Center also has precedents in the University’s practice of supporting faculty development through continuing education. Dr. Tolias himself just completed a University-funded 8-week online Higher Education Teaching Certificate Program offered by the Harvard University Derek Bok Center for Teaching & Learning.

As a prelude to the operations of the new Center for Teaching Excellence, a series of faculty training workshops will be offered starting this December to support faculty in their teaching duties and to familiarize them with the state-of-the-art infrastructure of our hybrid classes.

Image: Dr. Themis Kaniklidou, Provost, and Dr. Dimitris Tolias, Dean for Digital Learning and Educational Innovation