Research Team
Dr. Carrie Traher, Director
Associate Professor, Department of Thanatology, King's University College
Carrie's perspective regarding research, theory, and praxis has been guided by over 20 years experience as a psychotherapist, educator, and researcher. She has signifcant experience as a qualitative researcher and collaborates with colleagues in Canada, the United States, and Australia on such topics as medical assistance in dying (MAiD), loss after divorce, creative expression in bereavement, the use of photo narrative in grief, and experiences of bereaved university students. Her most recent publication, the Routledge International Handbook of Child and Adolescent Grief in Contemporary Contexts will be released in November, 2023. Connecting with nature is deeply restorative for Carrie who can be found hiking in the woods or paddling in her canoe.
Associate Professor, Department of Thanatology, King's University College
Carrie's perspective regarding research, theory, and praxis has been guided by over 20 years experience as a psychotherapist, educator, and researcher. She has signifcant experience as a qualitative researcher and collaborates with colleagues in Canada, the United States, and Australia on such topics as medical assistance in dying (MAiD), loss after divorce, creative expression in bereavement, the use of photo narrative in grief, and experiences of bereaved university students. Her most recent publication, the Routledge International Handbook of Child and Adolescent Grief in Contemporary Contexts will be released in November, 2023. Connecting with nature is deeply restorative for Carrie who can be found hiking in the woods or paddling in her canoe.
Dr. Lisa McLean, Research Associate
Assistant Professor, Department of Thanatology
King's University College
Lisa is an experienced qualitative researcher having conducted fieldwork in Canada, Indonesia, Mexico, and Central America. Lisa's work emphasizes interdisciplinary, drawing upon critical feminist theories and frameworks from Thanatology, Peace and Conflict Studies, and Critical Migration Studies to examine vulnerability and agency in migratory contexts. Her most recent research projects include examining the concept of 'grief activism' (Stierl, 2016), with members of the Youth Coalition Combating Islamophobia (YCCI); participatory arts-based research with Yazidi refugees, and ethnographic research on the transnational activism of Central American mothers of disappeared migrants. Lisa's core research themes include migration, social justice issues, disappearance, and grief activism. Lisa is inspired and energized by the work of feminist science fiction authors, imagining alternative futures where we may all thrive.
Dr. Adrienne Sauder, Research Associate
Lecturer, Department of Thanatology
King’s University College
Adrienne is an experienced qualitative researcher who utilizes traditional, phenomenological, and arts-based inquiry approaches for her interdisciplinary work in education and Thanatology. She is currently conducting a scoping review on student experiences of academic failure in university. Her research interests include academic failure, adult orphans, kin keeping, and post-loss sibling relationships. Adrienne is a prolific knitter of socks and believes in the therapeutic benefits of mindful productivity.
Athir Jisrawi, MA, RP(Qualifying) Research Assistant
Athir is a clinical counsellor practicing in community mental health, with a primary focus on violence and abuse prevention. Her approach to counselling is person-centred, trauma-informed, and anti-oppressive. Athir is passionate about nonprofit work and education, and believes strongly in reducing barriers to accessing mental healthcare and social services. Athir’s academic interest in non-death loss due to forced displacement has been shaped by various roles she has held in academia and the nonprofit sector (frontline service provider, manager, and research/teaching assistant), as well as her educational background in international relations and counselling psychology.
Athir is a clinical counsellor practicing in community mental health, with a primary focus on violence and abuse prevention. Her approach to counselling is person-centred, trauma-informed, and anti-oppressive. Athir is passionate about nonprofit work and education, and believes strongly in reducing barriers to accessing mental healthcare and social services. Athir’s academic interest in non-death loss due to forced displacement has been shaped by various roles she has held in academia and the nonprofit sector (frontline service provider, manager, and research/teaching assistant), as well as her educational background in international relations and counselling psychology.