Media Psychology, Trauma & Growth

Welcome, I’m glad you’re here. Chances are, you ended up here as a result of your interest in my research about humiliation, public shaming, cancel culture, media misrepresentation or any of the varieties of online cruelty. Or maybe my expertise in cults, polygamy, or human trafficking. Truth is, I’ve sort of been through it all.  I want you to know that because I came out the other side, something I never thought possible at the time.

Here’s how my academic friend summed me up.

 “Christine has lived a harrowing, made-for-TV personal history. Her story is as enchanting as it is engrossing, a meditation on what it means to be alive and at risk, looking for something to hold onto in a shaky world. Her story speaks to the tension between confidence and doubt, tradition and change, feeling found and feeling loss, an experience resonant for us all.” – Jeremy Sherman, PhD, author, researcher

Yes, I have been through a colorful life journey, and happily I have ended up right here – as a vintage-and-coffee-loving media psychology geek with a touch of expertise in in some extraordinary topics.

What is a media psychologist? It is a person who specializes in media psychology, a new field in social psychology that focuses on how media and technology impact people; i.e. their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

Media psychology encompasses television, film, music, technology, software, mobile apps, online gaming, user experience, social media, viral marketing, fandom and fan engagement, personal branding, celebrity studies, online cruelty, public shaming, augmented reality, online education, media ethics, and more.  If it’s digital, virtual, on a screen, or related to stories, I’m interested.

My current research obsessions include-

My doctoral research shows how being humiliated in the media can deeply traumatize the subjects of the stories, comments or tweets, and how media misrepresentation negatively impacts trauma survivors and marginalized populations. You can read it HERE.

“The media‘s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.” – Malcolm X

To summarize, my passionate personal goal is to find ways to use media and technology for good and for growth, to help media become more trauma-informed, to give a voice to the voiceless, and to help individuals and businesses leave their positive legacy in the digital world.

To ask about my help with an issue, CLICK HERE

PERSONAL INFO:  MORE HERE.