Growing up in Vienna, Austria, Amir went to school close to Berggasse, where Sigmund Freud lived and worked. After school, he lived in various countries, studying, researching and travelling.
After medical school, Amir started his residency in psychiatry in Vienna, interrupting the programme for a Neuroscience Masters at King’s College London. He became a consultant psychiatrist at the University Medical Centre in Hamburg, Germany, in 2020. Today, he leads a team of residents, psychologists, and nurses treating patients with anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and depression. In his effort to reduce the stigmatisation of people with mental illnesses, he created a blog with colleagues addressing pressing issues on mental health. Since the pandemic started, Amir has provided basic psychiatric help to refugees at a local organisation’s psychosocial counselling department. He spent his weekends on the rugby field, coaching young children to become athletes.
Amir has been working in the mental health field for over 10 years. His interests include the broad field of psychiatry, from history to neurobiology and the experiences and life stories of patients, family members, and professionals. However, his PhD research at Brunel University focuses on the effects of music utilised as medicine on depressive symptoms. He is especially studying auditory training programs such as Music for the Mind, intended to stimulate the brain and facilitate active listening.