Disordering distress: Women’s experiences of domestic violence, self-empowerment, and psychology

Self-empowerment culture tells women that they are individually responsible for solving their problems and that trauma can be a means of self-transformation.

This places pressure on women to manage their distress and survive domestic violence in socially acceptable ways, furthering an illusion of control that harnesses shame and aspiration.

This doubles the harm that women experience, especially when their distress is rebranded as illness within the systems of psychology. Rachel Hogg is a psychology academic whose work focuses on human-animal interaction, social psychology, gender and feminism, mental health, and the psychology of work. Her PhD research examined horse-rider relationships in elite equestrian sport. She now conducts research on animal-assisted therapy, sustainability in farming, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experiences of mental health services, neurodiversity, social media, and the gendering of mental health diagnoses and systems.

Rachel has contributed to academic and media discourses around wellness culture, sex education and consent, and domestic violence reforms, and is regularly sought after as a researcher and public commentator.

Rachel grew up on a wheat and sheep farm in south-eastern Australia and this upbringing has infused her work, alongside her engagement with literary and performing arts. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at [ Ссылка ]

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