Dr Aala El-Khani is a humanitarian psychologist passionate about meeting the needs of caregivers and their families globally by conducting research, providing training and evidence informed resources. She has authored a number of family skills interventions and parenting resources for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as well as several other international organisations and academic institutions.

Dr El-Khani works as an independent consultant for numerous international organisations including UNODC and War Child. She graduated with a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Manchester, Division of Psychology and Mental Health, where she is now an honorary Research Associate. Aala is a global master trainer of seven international psychosocial, family skills, and trauma recovery interventions. She is highly experienced in developing, adapting, training, and implementing these interventions in challenged settings such as war and displacement contexts. She has led family skills training in over 15 countries.

She has conducted field research with families in refugee contexts and conflict zones, exploring their parenting challenges and the positive impact parenting support can provide. Her work has significantly contributed to an agenda of producing materials for families affected by conflict, displacement and residing in low resource contexts. Her current work collaborates the efforts of the UNODC and The University of Manchester in developing and evaluating family skills programmes in countries such as Afghanistan, Palestine, Serbia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Indonesia and Lebanon. Aala is passionate about highlighting the significant role that caregivers play in protecting their children during challenging times. Her two TEDx talks have been viewed over 1.5 million times.