Karen H. Ross, M.A.

PhD Candidate 
University of Calgary 
Werklund School of Education 
2500 University Drive NW 
Calgary AB  T2N 1N4 
Canada 

Phone:
 +1-403-903-4062 
Email: khross@ucalgary.ca 
Web: https://www.ucalgary.ca/strongt/karen-ross 

Karen H. Ross is a researcher and counsellor whose current research explores how mental health is constructed within campus policies and programs, awareness campaigns, online media, and postsecondary students’ self-understandings. She has previously completed research projects examining the discursive features of mental health smartphone apps (during a study visit to Aalborg University) and heterogeneous discourses of addiction in popular media. 

Karen holds a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology from the University of Toronto, and is currently completing a PhD in Counselling Psychology at the University of Calgary. She has trained in narrative therapy and family therapy (the latter at the Calgary Family Therapy Centre), and has co-published critical yet generative analyses of therapy practices and dilemmas (e.g., working with self-diagnosed clients), typically informed by a discursive sensibility. 

In addition to her interest in the constraints and problem-solving resources associated with mental health language and therapeutic practices, Karen is interested in how social constructionism can inform the design, evaluation, and ongoing delivery of social change initiatives – particularly solution-focused journalism.