Faculty

Profile

College / Department

Teaching areas

PSY 101 Introduction to Psychology; PSY 194 Psychology of Everyday Life; PSY 313 Psychotherapy and Counseling; PSY 301 Abnormal Psychology; PSY 403 Personal and Professional Development

Research areas

Youth mental health; Youth suicide; Suicide prevention; Mental health literacy; CBT; Self-compassion; Psychopathology

Education

PhD, Counselling Psychology (dpsych), City University, United Kingdom, 2007

Certificate, Competence In Occupational Testing (level A), British Psychological Society, London, UK, 2002

MS, Counselling Psychology, City University, United Kingdom, 2001

Certificate, Foundations Of Psychological Counselling, City University, United Kingdom, 1998

BS, Psychology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, 1997

Contact

[email protected]

+971 6 515 4478

Dr. Tatiana Tairi

Associate Professor

PhD, City University, United Kingdom

Dr. Tatiana Tairi is an Associate Professor of Psychology at AUS. A Chartered Counselling Psychologist, she holds a DPsych from City University, London, and has extensive clinical experience in the UK NHS and private practice. Her research advances understanding of youth mental health and suicide through applied, socially responsive studies on cognitive distortions, adolescent suicide attempts, mental health literacy, and self-compassion across Greece, New Zealand, and the UAE. Her work informs prevention, policy, and intervention to foster youth resilience and wellbeing. At AUS, she teaches undergraduate courses and serves as Internship Coordinator while contributing to student mentoring and mental health initiatives.

Publications

Carly Owen, Tatiana Tairi And Ilana Van Dyk. Self-compassion, intuitive eating, and disordered eating among emerging adults in Aotearoa New Zealand, New Zealand Journal Of Psychology

Georgina Caldwell And Tatiana Tairi. Does Being Kind, Warm and Accepting Towards Yourself Affect Your Well-Being? A Study of Construction Apprentices in New Zealand, Behaviour Change, 2023

Siobhain Mcgehan, Tatiana Tairi And Ilana Seager Van Dyk. Beyond the binary: Controversies and ethical considerations in current intervention models for transgender and gender minority children and young people, Psychology Aotearoa, 2022

Annericke Leonard, Tatiana Tairi And Neville Blampied. Tai Wātea/Waves of freedom: An evaluation of a surf therapy programme for improving psychosocial functioning in young men at high risk of adverse life outcomes, Journal Of Adventure Education And Outdoor Learning, 2022

Tatiana Tairi, John Fitzgerald, Theodore Chadjipadelis And Pineio Diamanti. Cognitive vulnerability profiles and suicide risk in New Zealand adults: A cluster analysis, Tpm-testing, Psychometrics, And Methodology In Applied Psychology, June 2022

Tatiana Tairi. Associations between cognitive errors and mental health status in New Zealand adolescents, Behavioural And Cognitive Psychotherapy, 2020

Nimesha Tissera And Tatiana Tairi. Mental health literacy: New Zealand adolescents’ knowledge of depression, schizophrenia, and hep-seeking, New Zealand Journal Of Psychology, 2020

Nikos Zilikis And Tatiana Tairi. Suicide attempts in adolescence (Απόπειρες αυτοκτονίας στην εφηβεία), November 2020

Tatiana Tairi, Petar Milojev And Nikos Zilikis. Clinical Profiles Among Greek Adolescent Suicide Attempters, Crisis, September 2018

Tatiana Tairi, Bryan Adams And Nikos Zilikis. Cognitive Errors in Greek Adolescents: The Linkages Between Negative Cognitive Errors and Anxious and Depressive Symptoms, International Journal Of Cognitive Therapy, September 2016

Tatiana Tairi And Nikos Zilikis. Clinical, psychosocial and family characteristics of suicide attempts among Greek adolescents., Adolescent Psychiatry, April (2nd Quarter/Spring) 2016

Nikos Zilikis, Tatiana Tairi, Grigoris Abatzoglou And Apostolos Iacovides. Adolescent parenthood and offspring suicide attempts in adolescence, Adolescent Psychiatry, 2012

Nikos Zilikis, Tatiana Tairi, Grigoris Abatzoglou And George Kaprinis. Family and psychosocial characteristics of adolescents with suicide attempt: data from a clinical population study, Aristotle University Medical Journal, 2009

Conference Presentations

Examining risk factors for suicide attempts among adolescent psychiatric patients, 33rd Panhellenic Psychiatric Congress, 15 May 2025

The challenges of university: A qualitative analysis of New Zealand university student experiences., International Psychology Conference Dubai (ipcd) 2025, 22 February 2025

Self-compassion and psychological wellbeing in construction apprentices, 44th International Conference Of The Society On Stress, Trauma, Anxiety And Resilience, 20 July 2023

Identifying differences between Greek adolescent suicide attempters and adolescent patients with no suicidal behavior, 31st European Congress Of Psychiatry, March 2023

School-based prevention of youth suicide in New Zealand: Issues and recommendations for practice, 32nd International Congress Of Psychology, July 2021

Theory of Mind (ToM) in pregnancy and the maternal infant attachment relationship, International Neuropsychological Society Ins Mid-year Congress, Convention And Exhibition Centre, July 2021

Associations between cognitive errors and mental health status in New Zealand adolescents, 40th National Conference Of The Australian Association For Cognitive And Behaviour Therapy (aacbt), October 2019

Grants and sponsorships

Grant, AUS Faculty Startup Grant 2025 - Multidimensional acculturation in the UAE, American University of Sharjah, 2025

Grant, Mental health literacy across UAE adolescents, teachers and parents: A large-scale cross-sectional study, 1 June 2024 - 31 May 2025

Awards and Honors

Teaching Excellence Award, Postgraduate Diploma in Psychological Practice Team, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Massey University, 2016

Teaching Excellence Award, Special Commendation, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Massey University, 2014