Dr Eden Thain
Lecturer
School of Psychology
College of Education, Behavioural and Social Sciences
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD (as Co-Supervisor) - email supervisor to discuss availability.
I have studied psychology since high school, always interested in the question "Why do people do what they do?"
I loved the brain and physics and wanted to work with fMRI machines (nearly did radiology). The brain would explain why people do what they do!
But throughout my studies, I found that people do what they do with other people. So, I focus my work on exploring the messy complexity of social relationships - particularly how people talk with one another (that's what we do most of the time, including right now!).
I have a broad range of interests, and I am always eager to jump into a new topic and see how my perspective can help any project.
That said, my interests are:
Contextualisation of Social Decision Making / Governance (hierarchy, bureaucracy, adhocracy, holacracy, sociocracy, etc.)
Economic Intersections of Social Relationships
Complex Trauma
LGBTQIA+ Discourses and Identity Constructions (inter- and intra-group discursive community separations)
My teaching focus areas include:
Community Psychology
Qualitative Methods in Psychology (e.g. interviews through to action research and ethnography)
Critical Psychology (and critical history of psych)
Discursive Psychology
I care not only about learning what social science has to offer but also about constantly remaining critical, curious, and open in research and teaching.
My research and teaching are driven by values that reward effort over outcome, invest in community voice over authority, and move with passion over metrics.
How can I help?
Photo Credit to Catherine Leo Photography
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Understanding the experiences of child sexual abuse disclosure in Australia in the wake of the Royal Commission, National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse - Competitive Grant, 23/11/2023 - 30/11/2025
Courses I teach
- BEHL 1003 Psychology 1A (2025)
- BEHL 1022 Counselling Foundations (2025)
- BEHL 3023 Language, Context and Social Behaviour (2025)
- BEHL 3037 Exploring the History and Foundations of Psychology (2025)
- BEHL 1022 Counselling Foundations (2024)
- BEHL 3037 Exploring the History and Foundations of Psychology (2024)
| Date | Role | Research Topic | Program | Degree Type | Student Load | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Co-Supervisor | This is what I actually need: Addressing contemporary learner's needs through amplifying the first-year student voice | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Miss Isabella Sauchelli |
| 2025 | Co-Supervisor | Social contextual analysis of psychosis behaviours and modern alternative treatments | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Adan Richards |
| 2023 | Co-Supervisor | Understanding regulation needs to facilitate therapeutic management of externalising behaviours in residential care | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Ms Miranda Willet |
Available For Media Comment.