Session D5
Tracks
Stream D (Level 1)
| Saturday, May 17, 2025 |
| 1:45 PM - 2:45 PM |
| Room 6 | INDIGO (Level 1) |
Overview
- The journey from domestic violence victim to corporate thriver: A psychological framework | Zuraida Dada (30 mins) (VIRTUAL PRESENTATION)
- Towards an integrative and adaptive digital mental health assessment for Australian adults | Zhao Koh (30 mins)
Presenter
Ms. Zuraida Dada
Invictus Psychology & Consulting
The journey from domestic violence victim to corporate thriver: A psychological framework
1:45 PM - 2:15 PMAbstract
This presentation is based on PHD research study entitled: A psychological framework for understanding the journey from domestic violence victim to corporate thriver.
Domestic violence affects millions of women around the world, and has devastating personal and professional impacts. Research has been done regarding the impacts but none have focused on how victims move on from their experiences to become successful professionals. The aim of this research study is to develop a framework for understanding the psychological journey of domestic violence victim to corporate thriver.
The study focused on how victims moved on from their victimization; the challenges that these women faced and; the tools, strategies, and resources they used on their journey.
This study was informed by grounded theory and utilized semi-structured interviews with five women who had experienced domestic violence and had achieved professional success. A semi-structured interview was constructed. The data analysis consisted of descriptive and axial coding. Theoretical sampling, saturation, sorting and memo-writing was undertaken. Categories and themes were created and a thematic analysis conducted.
Selection criteria included: gender, age, professional status/title, ethnic diversity. Purposeful sampling was used. The participants were female, of diverse ethnicities ranging in age from 40’s-60’s. The interviews were administered in-person, In Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and were recorded and transcribed.
The five themes were developed based on a thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews. The themes related to elements of transition and transformation that contributed to professional development and success.
The themes included how these women reclaimed important aspects of their lives; described the challenges participants faced during their recovery; described the tools and resources that they used during their recovery and described the tools and resources that they used in their professional roles. A psychological framework for understanding the journey from domestic violence victim to corporate thriver was developed based on these themes.
The potential implications of this study include improved practice guidelines for: therapists, domestic violence victims and organizations and a potential framework for how domestic violence victims can become successful in their professional lives.
Domestic violence affects millions of women around the world, and has devastating personal and professional impacts. Research has been done regarding the impacts but none have focused on how victims move on from their experiences to become successful professionals. The aim of this research study is to develop a framework for understanding the psychological journey of domestic violence victim to corporate thriver.
The study focused on how victims moved on from their victimization; the challenges that these women faced and; the tools, strategies, and resources they used on their journey.
This study was informed by grounded theory and utilized semi-structured interviews with five women who had experienced domestic violence and had achieved professional success. A semi-structured interview was constructed. The data analysis consisted of descriptive and axial coding. Theoretical sampling, saturation, sorting and memo-writing was undertaken. Categories and themes were created and a thematic analysis conducted.
Selection criteria included: gender, age, professional status/title, ethnic diversity. Purposeful sampling was used. The participants were female, of diverse ethnicities ranging in age from 40’s-60’s. The interviews were administered in-person, In Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and were recorded and transcribed.
The five themes were developed based on a thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews. The themes related to elements of transition and transformation that contributed to professional development and success.
The themes included how these women reclaimed important aspects of their lives; described the challenges participants faced during their recovery; described the tools and resources that they used during their recovery and described the tools and resources that they used in their professional roles. A psychological framework for understanding the journey from domestic violence victim to corporate thriver was developed based on these themes.
The potential implications of this study include improved practice guidelines for: therapists, domestic violence victims and organizations and a potential framework for how domestic violence victims can become successful in their professional lives.
.....
Zuraida Dada, born in South Africa under apartheid, was part of the anti-apartheid movement and the first wave of BIPOC "intelligentsia" in post-apartheid South Africa. She shares alma maters with Nelson and Winnie Mandela and Desmond Tutu. Zuraida immigrated to Canada in 2006. She is a passionate advocate for social justice and psychology, lobbying for systemic change in both countries. A seasoned psychologist with 22 years of experience, she is licensed in South Africa, Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba and Nova Scotia (Courtesy Register). Founder of Invictus Psychology & Consulting, Zuraida specializes in counselling and organizational psychology and offers telepsychology in several provinces. She is completing a PhD focused on post-traumatic growth and leadership. Zuraida's research placed third in the Ontario Psychological Association's (OPA) poster of excellence competition in November last year. Zuraida has been recognized for her volunteer efforts and is the recipient of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA’s) John C Service award and the Psychological Association of Alberta's (PAA) contributor of the year award. She is a former College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) council member and is the Chair-elect of the CPA’s counselling section and the Co-Chair of the CPA's Human Rights and Equity Committee.
Mr Zhao Hui Koh
Swinburne University Of Technology
Towards an integrative and adaptive digital mental health assessment for Australian adults
2:15 PM - 2:45 PMAbstract
Poor mental health is posing a significant burden on the Australian healthcare system, costing nearly $10 billion per year. While there has been considerable focus on treating and preventing mental illness, mental health promotion receives comparatively less attention. Given that almost 70-80% of the general population in Australia is not diagnosed with mental disorders, finding ways to encourage the general population to self-manage their mental health is crucial.
Self-monitoring is seen as the first step in self-management in mental health, commonly achieved through periodically completing self-report instruments. However, most self-report instruments used in practice typically screen for symptoms of mental illnesses such as K10 (psychological distress), PHQ-9 (depression) and GAD-7 (anxiety) but not mental well-being. A complete state of mental health encompasses mental well-being and mental illness. One consequence of adopting this conceptualisation, albeit more relevant to the general population, is the abundance of self-report instruments available, posing a challenge to develop a broad and ecologically valid mental health assessment for the general public.
This presentation aims to demonstrate the process of developing and optimising a digital mental health assessment relevant to the general population through a series of research studies. The journey began with conceptualising and developing a custom conceptual framework, followed by constructing and standardising an item pool before calibrating and optimising the items. Finally, a prototype was developed to showcase the viability of the solution. Besides sharing the results, this presentation will explore challenges encountered and how innovative digital solutions were used to address them. We hope to stimulate further discussions on utilising digital technology to promote mental health in Australia.
Self-monitoring is seen as the first step in self-management in mental health, commonly achieved through periodically completing self-report instruments. However, most self-report instruments used in practice typically screen for symptoms of mental illnesses such as K10 (psychological distress), PHQ-9 (depression) and GAD-7 (anxiety) but not mental well-being. A complete state of mental health encompasses mental well-being and mental illness. One consequence of adopting this conceptualisation, albeit more relevant to the general population, is the abundance of self-report instruments available, posing a challenge to develop a broad and ecologically valid mental health assessment for the general public.
This presentation aims to demonstrate the process of developing and optimising a digital mental health assessment relevant to the general population through a series of research studies. The journey began with conceptualising and developing a custom conceptual framework, followed by constructing and standardising an item pool before calibrating and optimising the items. Finally, a prototype was developed to showcase the viability of the solution. Besides sharing the results, this presentation will explore challenges encountered and how innovative digital solutions were used to address them. We hope to stimulate further discussions on utilising digital technology to promote mental health in Australia.
.....
Zhao Hui Koh ('Zhao') is a PhD candidate supervised by Professor Greg Murray in the Centre for Mental Health and Brain Sciences at the Swinburne University of Technology. In Zhao's PhD project, he investigates ways to develop evidence-based and fit-for-purpose digital mental health tools to measure the mental health of the general public in Australia. The research outcome will be readily available to be integrated into the digital health platform of the industry partner.
Zhao is a Malaysian-born Chinese living in Melbourne since 2002. Zhao grew up in Malaysia and completed most of his tertiary studies (computer science and psychology) in Australia. He worked as a software developer in the information technology (IT) industry for over a decade before embarking upon a transition from IT to psychology. Zhao's current research interests include digital mental health, clinical psychology, cognitive neuroscience and artificial intelligence.
