Emma Tseris

Associate Professor Emma Tseris is a prominent scholar in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney, specializing in critical mental health theory with a focus on gender inequality and social justice. She is a member of the Sydney Centre for Healthy Societies and actively contributes to critical discourse in mental health through her research, teaching, and community engagement.

Her research interests center on the social construction of mental illness, intersections between gender inequality and psychiatric practices, biomedical governance in neoliberal societies, and the value of lived experience narratives in research. Dr. Tseris employs critical feminist and participatory methodologies to investigate gendered coercion in psychiatric settings, de-institutionalization complexities, and peer-led alternatives to traditional mental health responses.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a consistent focus on challenging biomedical dominance in mental health, with particular attention to women's experiences, power dynamics in therapeutic settings, and creative alternatives that prioritize social justice over symptom management. Her work demonstrates increasing engagement with anti-racist frameworks and the intersection of whiteness with mental health systems.

• 2020: Appointed as Consulting Editor for Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work
• 2018: Selected for ARC Kathleen Fitzpatrick Laureate Mentoring Scheme
• 2017: Dean's Unit of Study Survey Teaching Commendation
• 2016: Education and Social Work Teaching Excellence Award

Dr. Tseris provides research supervision in critical mental health theory, gender and mental health, and participatory methodologies. She leads significant research projects including an ARC DECRA project on reducing gendered harm in involuntary mental health services and an ARC Discovery project on childhood emotional abuse impacts. Her teaching includes units she developed such as SCWK2008 Social Work and Mental Health and SCWK6952 Critical Perspectives on Mental Health.

She is actively involved with professional associations including the Australian Women's and Gender Studies Association, International Society for Psychological and Social Approaches to Psychosis, and the Lived Experience Academics Research Network, demonstrating her commitment to bridging academic research with community mental health initiatives.