About Me

PhD, BPsych(Hons), BA(ArtHist)(Mus), MAPS, FHEA

Relationships Expert | Speaker | Educator | Researcher

Official Bibliography

Dr Raquel Peel is an internationally recognised relationships expert and an award-winning educator and researcher. Her TEDx talk on relationship sabotage was featured as one of the most popular talks in the TED series ‘How to Be a Better Human’ and TEDxShorts. Raquel has also spoken at high-profile events such as the World of Science Festival and is a prolific contributor for The Conversation. She is regularly interviewed by the media to provide expert commentary on relationship matters at national and international outlets such as The Project, ABC, Forbes, The Guardian, Psychology Today, Channel News Asia, and the Deutsche Welle German Broadcaster. Her current research program encompasses studies on interpersonal relationships, mental health, suicide, and education. In her most recent academic position, she served as a Senior Lecturer, teaching a diverse range of psychology and counselling subjects across all undergraduate year levels, and Honours Program Director, coordinating the 4th year Bachelor of Psychology (Honours), Bachelor of Science (Honours), and the Master of Science (Research)(Psychology Research) programs at the University of Southern Queensland. Her work as an educator has been recognised with prestigious institutional awards, including the Excellence Award for Early Career Educator granted by the University of Southern Queensland and the Inclusive Practice Teaching Award granted by James Cook University. Additionally, she is a fellow of Advanced Higher Education. Originally from Brazil, Raquel has been in Australia for almost two decades and has recently moved to Melbourne with her husband, son, and fur kids. For a complete portfolio, please visit: www.RaquelPeel.com

Invitations to Speaking Events & Workshops

Raquel is an experienced public speaker with a passion for running workshops on the topics of relationships, communication, and suicide prevention and intervention.

List of Works

Relationships Research

See Relationship Research for more details

Journal Articles

Peel, R. & Caltabiano, N. (2021). The Relationship Sabotage Scale: An evaluation of factor analyses and constructive validity. BMC Psychology, 9 (146), 1-17. doi: 10.1186/s40359-021-00644-0

Peel, R. & Caltabiano, N. (2021). Why do we sabotage love? A thematic analysis of lived experiences of relationship breakdown and maintenance. Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy, 20 (2), 99-131. doi: 10.1080/15332691.2020.1795039

Peel, R., Caltabiano, N., Buckby, B., & McBain, K. A. (2019). Defining romantic self-sabotage: A thematic analysis of interviews with practicing psychologists. Journal of Relationship Research, 10 (e16), 1-9. doi: 10.1017/jrr.2019.7

Peel, R., Caltabiano, N., Buckby, B., & McBain, K. A. (2018). Mental health diagnoses and relationship breakdown: Which is the chicken and which the egg? International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, 4 (3), 98-116.

Conference Abstracts

Peel, R., McBain, K. A., Caltabiano, N., & Buckby, B. (2018). What do psychologists have to say about self-sabotage in romantic relationships? Presented at the 17^th Australian Psychological Society Psychology of Relationships Interest Group (APS-PORIG) National Conference. Melbourne, Australia.

Peel, R., Buckby, B, McBain, K. A., & Caltabiano, N. (2018). It is not what it seems. Heart break leads to mental health difficulties in higher education. Presented at the Australasian Mental Health and Higher Education Conference (AMHHEC). Townsville, Australia.

Peel, R., McBain, K. A., Caltabiano, N., & Buckby, B. (2017). How is self-sabotage presented in romantic relationships? Presented at the 16th Australian Psychological Society Psychology of Relationships Interest Group (APS-PORIG) National Conference. Melbourne, Australia.

Conference Poster

Peel, R., McBain, K. A., Caltabiano, N., & Buckby, B. (2019, March). The romantic self-saboteur: How do people sabotage love? Presented at the International Convention of Psychological Science. Paris, France.

Online Articles

The Conversation

Peel, R. (2022, January 3^rd). Thinking about a summer fling? Read this article first.

Peel, R. (2021, November 3^rd). 3 ways we sabotage relationships (and 3 ways to kick the habit).

Peel, R. (2021, October 11^th). What is ‘the ick’? A psychological scientist explains this TikTok trend.

Peel, R. (2021, July 21^th). Netflix’s Sexy Beasts tells us you can take physical attraction out of love. The reality is much more complicated.

Peel, R. (2021, January 14^th). Bridgerton offers clever relationship advice — why friendship is the foundation of happy romantic partnerships.

Peel, R. (2020, September 11^th). Are you dreading going back to the workplace?

Peel, R. (2020, March 31^st). The coronavirus lockdown could test your relationship. Here’s how to keep it intact (and even improve it).

Invited Talks

National University of Singapore. Relationships & Burn-Out. (2021)

World of Science Festival. The Romantic Self-Saboteur. (2021)

James Cook University. Arts and Psychology: The relationship between creativity and psychopathology.

The Townsville Hospital and Health Services. What do psychologists and clients have to say about self-sabotage in romantic relationships? (2019)

TEDx. Why do we sabotage love? (TEDxJCUCairns, 2018).

Suicide Research

See Suicide Research for More details, links and downloads

Journal Articles

Peel, R., Buckby, B., & McBain, K. A. (2017). Comparing the effect of stigma on the recognition of suicide risk in others between Australia and Brazil. GSTF Journal of Psychology (JPsych) (2), 1-10. doi: 10.5176/2345-7872 3.2 43

Conference Papers

Peel, R., Buckby, B., & McBain, K. A. (2017). Is awareness of suicide risk and intent culturally informed? A comparison between Australia and Brazil. In C. Speelman (Ed.) 6th Annual International Conference on Cognitive Behavioral Psychology (101-110). Singapore: GSTF.

Online Articles

PsychReg

Peel, R. (2017, May 4^th). Reasons why we should be talking about suicide.

Bullying Research

See Bullying Research for More details, links and downloads

Conference Posters

Peel, R., Buckby, B., & McBain, K. A. (2017). Who gets Bullied at Work? The role of Emotion Stability, Psychological Flexibility and Coping in Workplace Bullying. Poster presented at the Inaugural Australasian Mental Health and Higher Education Conference. Townsville, Australia.

Online Articles

The Conversation

Peel, R., & Bucky, B. (2018, March 5^th). What makes someone more likely to be bullied at work and how companies can help them.

Medical Education Research

See Rural Medicine Research for More details, links and downloads

Journal Articles

Peel, R., Young, L., Reeve, C., Kanakis, K., Malau-Aduli, B., Sen Gupta, T., & Hays, R. (2020). The impact of localised general practice training on Queensland’s rural and remote general practice workforce. BMC Medical Education,20 (119). doi: 10.1186/s12909-020-02025-4

Young, L., Peel, R., O’Sullivan, B., & Reeve, C. (2019). Building general practice training capacity in rural and remote Australia with underserved primary care services: A qualitative investigation. BMC Health Services Research,19 (1), 338-348. doi: 10.1186/s12913-019-4078-1

Conference Abstracts

Peel, R., Reeve, C., & Young, L. (2018). Community engaged GP training. Does it make a difference? Presented at the Rural Medicine Australia Conference. Darwin, Australia.

Young, L., Peel, R., Reeve, C., Malau-Aduli, B., O’Sullivan, B., & Hays, R. (2018). Insight into Rural and Remote GP Training and Supervision in Queensland. Presented at the Global Community Engaged Medical Education Muster Conference. Mount Gambier, Australia.