Qualifications & Experience
PhD, BPsych(Hons), BA(ArtHist)(Mus), MAPS, FHEA
Relationships Expert | Speaker | Educator | Researcher
Academic Qualifications
Doctor of Philosophy - 2020
James Cook University
Thesis Topic: Relationship Sabotage: An Attachment and Goal Orientation Perspective on Seeking Love yet Failing to Maintain Romantic Relationships.
Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) - 2015
James Cook University
Thesis Topic: Comparing Cultural Values and Attitudes to Ending Life between Australia and Brazil.
Bachelor of Arts (Art History and Music) - 2011
The University of Sydney
Advanced Diploma (Music Business) - 2008
TAFE NSW
Employment History
For a complete overview of my employment history, please see Linkedin profile.
List of Works
Relationships Research
See Relationship Research for more details
Journal Articles
Campo, S. M. de, & Peel, R. (2026). How are Singles Sabotaging Their Relationships? A Thematic Analysis of the Lived Experiences of Singles in the Context of Relationship Sabotage. Interpersona: An International Journal, 20(1), e834. https://doi.org/10.54899/iij.v20i1.834
Groves, R. & Peel, R. (2025). Trust Difficulty in Intimate Relationships: Understanding the Impact of Insecure Attachment and Flirting Styles. Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships, 19(2), e629. https://doi.org/10.54899/ijpr.v19i2.629
Peel, R. (2025). The Theory of Relationship Sabotage: A Preliminary Evaluation of Conceptual Models Expanding on Attachment and Goal-Orientation Frameworks. Behavioral Sciences, 15(8):1091. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15081091
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.
Book Chapters
Peel, R. & Ward, N. (2022). The Impact of Relationship Issues on the Mental Health of Students in Higher Education. In Mental Health and Higher Education in Australia. Springer.
Peel, R. (2023). Relationship Self-Sabotage. Marriage and Divorce in America Issues, Trends, and Controversies. Bloomsbury.
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 17th 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. (2025). Does conflict with friends make you squirm? Doing it right might make the relationship stronger.
Peel, R. (2024). Women take more antidepressants after divorce than men but that doesn’t mean they’re more depressed.
*This article was re-published at The Conversation Brazil
Peel. R. (2023). What is a relationship ‘boundary’? And how do I have the boundary conversation with my partner?
Peel, R. (2023).Stuck in a ‘talking stage’ or ‘situationship’? How young people can get more out of modern love.
*This article was re-published at The Conversation Indonesia
Peel, R. (2022). Thinking about a summer fling? Read this article first.
Peel, R. (2021). 3 ways we sabotage relationships (and 3 ways to kick the habit).
*This article was re-published at The Conversation Indonesia
Peel, R. (2021). What is ‘the ick’? A psychological scientist explains this TikTok trend.
Peel, R. (2021). Netflix’s Sexy Beasts tells us you can take physical attraction out of love. The reality is much more complicated.
Peel, R. (2021). Bridgerton offers clever relationship advice — why friendship is the foundation of happy romantic partnerships.
Peel, R. (2020). Are you dreading going back to the workplace? You might be feeling separation anxiety from your home.
Peel, R. (2020). The coronavirus lockdown could test your relationship. Here’s how to keep it intact (and even improve it).
TED
TEDx Talk. Why do we sabotage love?
TEDx Shorts. Why do we sabotage love?
TED Pocasts. How to be a better human. How to stop sabotaging your romantic relationships?
TED Ideas. Why we sabotage Romantic relationships - and what we can do about 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)
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 4th). Reasons why we should be talking about suicide.
Interpersonal Violence Research
Conference Presentations
Peel, R., Melnader, N., Wayland, S., Mallett, X. (2025). Murder by Suicide: Recognising red flags.
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 5th). 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.
Student Research
Journal Articles
Buys, M., Peel, R., & Buiten, D. (2026). Mapping the Body, Meeting the System: The Development of a Codesigned Psychotherapy Programme for Premenstrual Change. Feminism & Psychology, 0(0). https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09593535261464231
Buys, M., Peel, R., & Buiten, D. (2025). Body Mapping as a Therapeutic Activity in Psychotherapy Practice: A Scoping Review. Arts in Psychotherapy, 96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2025.102383
Nuttall, M., Machin, T., Peel, R., Abel, S., & Brown, S. (2025). Online Prosocial Behaviours: A Scoping Review of Definitions, Actions and Motivators. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 28(6):387-398. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2024.0481
Other Contributions
See Other Contributions for More details, links and downloads
Book Chapter
Jeffries, C. & Peel, R. (2022). Social Psychology. In The Australian Handbook for Careers in Psychological Science. PressBooks.
Consultancy Report
Peel, R. (2017). Mental health program for HDR students.
Online Articles
The Conversation
Weston, X., McGregor, J., & Peel, R. (2026). From joyrides to assault, ‘crimefluencer’ networks are coercing young people into breaking the law.
Mallett, X. & Peel, R. (2025). Locked up for life? Unpacking South Australia’s new child sex crime laws.
Want to Contact Me?
Why not visit my contact page, I would love to chat with you!