School of Health Sciences and Social Work

Profile

Academic Duties (where relevant):

Kim is a postgraduate research student, working on a doctoral thesis on the wellbeing of ex-military personnel and their pre-enlistment and service experiences throughout the lifespan. Prior to starting her PhD, Kim studied for a masters in Counselling Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies and received training in school-based cognitive behavioural intervention programmes in San Francisco, promoting the implementation of child and family support for improved academic performance.

Research Interests/Supervision opportunities:

Early research interests concentrated on adolescent psychotherapy from multiple perspectives, which incorporated psychological, physiological, philosophical and spiritual themes of adolescents in crisis. Her dissertation on dissociation in children focused on the clinical examination of a case study to understand how children embody and dissociate from traumatic and fearful experiences. Currently, she is interested in exploring the experiences of ex-military personnel who have been exposed to combat conditions and their sense-making of these experiences as they return to civilian life. With this in mind, her research aims to provide more information about this population to military and mental healthcare professionals, and whether or not the support needs of this group are being accommodated, if they are even seeking support at all.

Publications:

Gordon, K. (2012). Experiences in the war zone, shared narratives, and shifting identities: Systematic literature review of qualitative research. The Humanistic Psychologist. (Under Review).