Arie Zakaryan, PhD, is a psychologist specializing in pediatric psychology and pain management. He leads the Phoenix Children's fellowship program and assists the training director of the Phoenix Children's psychology training program. Dr. Zakaryan also helps run the Weekly Rehabilitation and Pain Program (WRAPP) for adolescents suffering from chronic pain in the Mercy-Gilbert and Thomas Campus clinics.

Dr. Zakaryan was selected as one of 10 Phoenix Children's providers to participate in Quality Improvement, Leadership and Management Program (QILM) in collaboration with Arizona State University's College of Healthcare Solutions.

Dr. Zakaryan joined the Phoenix Children's team in 2017. What drew him to Phoenix Children's was the opportunity to help the small department and training program grow as part of his early career trajectory. He was also attracted to the need for his bilingual abilities here in Phoenix as well as the need for increased awareness and advocacy for minoritized populations and all intersectionalities of diversity. This has become especially exciting due to the upcoming fusion with other behavioral health providers through the Center for Child and Adolescent Resiliency. Increased awareness of the importance of mental health care is not only occurring in the hospital but also across our communities as pivot points for collaboration and outreach.

After earning his doctoral degree with a child clinical subspecialty from Loyola University Chicago, Dr. Zakaryan went on to conduct his pediatric psychology internship at Rush University Medical Center, also in Chicago. He then completed his fellowship in pediatric psychology at Children's Hospital of Orange County in California. His training there focused on treating patients with co-occurring medical and mental health diagnoses, especially young patients diagnosed with cancer.

Dr. Zakaryan is actively involved in several professional organizations, including the Arizona Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, Society of Pediatric Psychology, and Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.

In an effort to further support children and families, Dr. Zakaryan has published multiple articles surrounding pediatric well-being. His articles include mental health advice about COVID-19 as well as common parenting challenges.

Fluent in English, Spanish and Armenian, Dr. Zakaryan conducts assessments and interventions. He's also developing or contributing to the development of numerous protocols with multidisciplinary teams: one as part of the inpatient pain rehabilitation program; another to help identify, evaluate and treat patients with functional neurological symptom disorder (FNSD); and a last one for the Phoenix Children's surgery center that incorporates psychology prior to surgeries in an effort to improve pain-coping as well as postoperative patient/family support during an inpatient stay.

Outside of work, Dr. Zakaryan loves to bake, especially chocolate treats. He also enjoys running and hiking, whenever the weather allows. Recently, he began indoor biking to keep active during the hot Arizona summers.