Bea Mariam Killguss

About

Bea Mariam Killguss

Availability: Available
NSPC Roles: Teaching and Research Supervision Masters and (Secondary) Doctoral.

Modules: Social/Cultural/Ethical Isssues, Philosophical and Religious Worldviews, Conflict and Reconciliation, Theories of Change, Gender, Sex and Sexuality, Family and Systems, Development through the Lifespan.

Research and Supervision

My research expertise lies at the intersection of Existential Philosophy, Psychotherapy, and Critical Diversity Studies, with a specific focus on diversity, racism, migration, uprootedness, and transracial adoption. I exclusively supervise research using an Auto-ethnographic methodology, emphasising personal narrative to critically explore cultural beliefs, social structures, and systemic practices.

Auto-ethnography forms the foundation of both my research and supervision. This approach involves:

• Narrative Inquiry: Using personal experiences to explore and critique cultural phenomena, recognising the intricate relationship between the self and broader societal constructs.
• Reflexive Engagement: Encouraging a rigorous self-examination of one’s identity and positionality, highlighting the connection between the personal and political.
• Relational Focus: Acknowledging the impact of interpersonal relationships on the research process, enabling deeper exploration of existential questions and identity formation.
• Creative Rigour: Combining intellectual depth with emotional authenticity to present lived experiences with vulnerability and insight.
• Social Justice Advocacy: Illuminating marginalised narratives to foster a deeper understanding of structural inequities, contributing to societal change.

Research Interests

My work is rooted in auto-ethnographic inquiry, drawing upon existential psychotherapy, liberation psychology, and critical psychosocial perspectives to explore the intersections of trauma, resilience, and identity. My primary research interests include:

• Family Dynamics and Identity in Adoption: Investigating kinship, racism, and cultural dynamics in adoption, with a focus on transracial adoptee experiences and the psychological effects of displacement and belonging.
• Liberation Psychology and Social Justice: Examining psychological oppression, structural violence, and collective healing through a liberation psychology lens, with attention to decolonial approaches in mental health.
• Intergenerational Trauma and Psychological Inheritance: Exploring how historical, familial, and systemic trauma shapes identity, resilience, and mental health outcomes across generations.
• Motherhood, Identity, and Psychological Transformation: Investigating the psychological shifts and existential challenges of motherhood, particularly for women with complex personal and cultural histories.
• Neurodiversity and Misdiagnosis in Women: Critiquing the underdiagnosis and false diagnosis of neurodivergence, particularly in women and girls, and examining how social expectations shape perceptions of mental health and distress.
• Trauma and Mental Distress in High-Control Environments: Analysing the psychological impact of childhood displacement, boarding school trauma, and experiences of anxiety, particularly in global, faith-based, and high-control communities.
• Multicultural Identity and Belonging: Examining the psychosocial dimensions of multilingual, multicultural, and multi-religious upbringings, particularly within global and transient communities.
• Complex Trauma and Religious Harm: Assessing the long-term impact of childhood neglect, religious abuse, and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD), with an emphasis on intergenerational trauma and reconstructing meaning after faith-based harm.
• Racism, Microaggressions, and Lived Experience: Employing a self-reflective, auto-ethnographic approach to critically examine the psychological consequences of racism, microaggressions, and the intersection of racial identity with mental health.
• Humanitarian Work, Trauma, and Resilience: Evaluating the mental well-being and resilience of individuals raised within humanitarian, missionary, and expatriate families, with attention to the psychological cost of high-mobility, loss, and exposure to crisis environments.

Languages

• English (Native)
• German (Native)
• French (Advanced)
• Urdu (Advanced)
• Hindi (Advanced)

Publications and Conference Papers

• Identity and the Need to Belong: Understanding Identity Formation and Place in the Lives of Global Nomads(Illness Crisis & Loss, 2008, 16(2):137-151, DOI:10.2190/IL.16.2.d)
• Subverting Identity: An Auto-ethnographic Critical Analysis of Contemporary Politics of Culture and Belonging as a Transracial Adoptee (Chapter /Publication pending, 2025)
• Conference Paper:
  Autoethnographic Reflections on Racial Identity: Transracial Adoption, Cosmopolitanism, and Hybridity - Presented at RAI Conference 2024. This paper explores the transracial adoptee's journey through the lens of auto-ethnography, focusing on culture, race, and racism. Employing reflective writing and self-directed interviews, it navigates the formation of a cohesive self-identity amid competing cultural influences, enriching our understanding of human development within a cosmopolitan framework.