Past Research Projects
Dissertation Research: Not on my Own - Eating Disorder Recovery in Context
University of Guelph
My dissertation research focused on exploring eating disorder recovery as experienced by diverse individuals and their families, as well as healthcare providers. I conducted qualitative interviews and digital storytelling workshops with people who self-identify as being in recovery/recovered from eating disorders and their (self-selected) family members. I screened these films in healthcare settings to explore the impact of viewing short, first-person films on healthcare provider perspectives on recovery.
Reproducing Stigma: Obesity and Women's Experiences of Reproductive Health Care
University of Manitoba -- University of Guelph -- Concordia University
Project Manager, Guelph/Toronto Site
The Reproductive Care study centred around the care delivered to and received by people labeled as “obese” who are attempting to conceive children or who have attempted to conceive in the past. We examined the experiences of people labeled as obese who have fertility concerns, and we will also be interviewing health practitioners such as fertility specialists and nurses working in fertility clinics. The overall goal of the research was to ensure that the best, most sensitive healthcare is delivered to women who are labeled obese and who are attempting to conceive. Dr. Deborah McPhail (University of Manitoba) was the PI on this CIHR-funded grant. I was supervised by Co-Investigator Dr. Carla Rice (University of Guelph).
Social Justice, Medicalization and Family Therapy
University of Guelph
This research project was an exploration of the systemic factors that impact people's therapy experience. The research has been primarily discursive, focused on how therapists might use social justice perspectives to decrease marginalization and improve the experiences of diverse people in therapy. I worked under the supervision of Dr. Olga Sutherland (University of Guelph) on this project.
Project ReVision
University of Guelph
Project ReVision is a social science institute and collective of research projects led by Dr. Carla Rice. Projects are oriented toward an exploration of marginalization and misrepresentation, and invites participants to re-story and re-present their experiences through creative, collaborative artistic projects, primarily digital storytelling. My work with ReVision included facilitating digital storytelling projects with participants, infographic creation, data analysis, writing, and speaking engagements.
Consensus Definition of Recovery
With colleagues from the Netherlands, the United States, Ireland, and Israel, I am exploring whether it is possible to establish a consensus definition of recovery from eating disorders. We have developed a survey that is now being disseminated in the Netherlands designed to capture the experience of eating disorder recovery and help us to establish definitional and conceptual clarity in order to produce stronger research and clinical studies for eating disorders.
Through Thick and Thin: Investigating Body Image and Body Management Among Queer Women in Southern Ontario
Co-Investigator, University of Guelph
This project was focused on using qualitative and arts-based research to explore the experiences of queer women's embodiment. We took an intersectional approach to body image and body management concerns and gathered a corpus of stories about women's experiences in their bodies.
Masters Research: Storying Recovery - Exploring the Experiences of Young Women in Eating Disorder Recovery
University of Guelph
In my Masters research, I used qualitative interviews and digital storytelling to explore the embodied experiences of young women in eating disorder recovery. The full thesis is is available here. Articles stemming from this work are listed under the publications tab.