Profile
Janet Stoppard
Birth:
1945
Death:
2024
Training Location(s):
PhD, Queen's University (Canada) (1976)
MSc, Queen's University (Northern Ireland) (1968)
BSc, Exeter University (1966)
Primary Affiliation(s):
Health Sciences Centre Hospital, University of British Columbia (1976-1977)
St. Thomas University (1978-1979)
University of New Brunswick (1979-2008)
Manchester Metropolitan University (Honorary Professor) (2008-2024)
Psychology’s Feminist Voices Oral History Interview:
Career Focus:
Women and depression; older women's everyday lives; qualitative research methods in psychology.
Biography
As a teenager Janet Stoppard decided she would study psychology. Her decision was based not on passion, but on practicality. Growing up in England, the education system required that by 15 years of age a student dedicate their next 3 years of education to a science or humanities stream. As a student of science, Stoppard could not imagine a career in physics or chemistry, although she did wonder about mathematics. In her final year of high school, she attended a student conference that focused on different educational and career directions. It was the mid-1960s and everyone was talking about 'psychology.' At the time you needed a science background to pursue a psychology degree and conveniently, Stoppard had one.
During her undergraduate education Stoppard recalled thinking, "when are we going to get to the good stuff?" Despite her disappointment in psychology, however, she went on to do Master's level training, as the National Health Services in the United Kingdom hired and financed students to complete clinical training in psychology. It was a practical direction that fit with the path she was on and allowed her to earn a salary.
After several years of working in England and Northern Ireland, Stoppard emigrated to Canada. Landing in Halifax, Nova Scotia, it quickly became apparent that to work in psychology she would need a PhD. Stoppard earned her doctorate and developed her feminism at Queen's University in Ontario.
During her time at Queen's, students and the surrounding community were driving the development of a women's centre on campus. As an example of the impact of the women's centre, Stoppard spoke of one of the many talks that the centre hosted, on issues of women's health and violence:
"Somebody came from the local police ... she couldn't understand why we were so interested in this topic of violence against women, so she said, 'How many women in this group have experienced some kind of assault?' And virtually every woman in the room put their hand up."
Many books with feminist ideas were circulating. It was an exciting time, and the politics made sense to Stoppard. In the psychology department there was a group of people who were interested in the social psychology of gender and this group made it possible for Stoppard to bring her 'extracurricular interests' into her academics.
Although Stoppard was training in clinical psychology at Queen's University, she was able to complete her dissertation with anyone from the department and she chose to work with a social psychologist. Her work looked at gender stereotypes and it confirmed for her the importance of social context, that humans and human experience cannot be reduced and manipulated within a laboratory. However, this insight was not cemented for Stoppard until some time later when she decided to dedicate her work to what were then considered 'fringe' research methods.
After her PhD, Stoppard struggled to find employment partly because her supervisor was on sabbatical in Europe and could not assist her, and partly because of sex discrimination. Eventually Stoppard found work at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, and in time took on a position as Dean of Graduate Studies, the first woman in this role, and one of the first women to hold an upper level administrative position. There was pressure for her to continue climbing the ladder of administrative success, but she found it stressful and burnt out. She missed having the time for scholarly work and was exhausted by the mentality of other administrators who looked down on researchers. Thus, she resigned. After resigning, things shifted for Stoppard and she was able to become more fully the feminist researcher she wanted to be.
During her "administration leave," she aligned herself with Jane Ussher at the University College London. It was through her relationship with Ussher that she was able to meet other British psychologists whose work she had been reading. Meeting women like Paula Nicolson and Lucy Yardley, she felt more connected with "what was going on" in feminist psychology. Following her time in London, Stoppard wrote a paper on understanding women and depression from a non-mainstream, feminist perspective. This paper was a turning point for Stoppard and afterwards she only taught and worked with qualitative methods at the University of New Brunswick. No more mainstream stances! In 2000, she published her influential book Understanding Depression: Feminist Social Constructionist Approaches, and became widely known for her work on women's mental health.
Reflecting upon her career and the current state of psychology in her 2007 interview, Stoppard reported feeling like it was harder for young people in the field who wanted to take on a feminist approach. She felt that contemporary psychology had grown more conservative and was less willing to engage with social justice issues. As a result, she encountered many young students who chose to be more conservative for professional gain. She was disappointed that the "different ways of doing psychology" had not had a stronger impact on North American psychology.
While maybe not 'discipline-shattering,' I feel that these alternative approaches have had an impact, and work like Janet Stoppard's continues to inspire young researchers like myself who are comfortable doing things a little differently.
Indeed, Janet's work has made a difference, and qualitative inquiry in psychology has been growing in popularity and influence since 2007. Upon her retirement, she moved back to England and spent the last years of her life in Manchester, where she was active in local causes and closer to family. She died after a brief illness on June 5, 2024.
by Jenna MacKay (2010); updated 2024.
To cite this article, see Credits
Selected Works
Stoppard, J.M., Thomas-Maclean, R., Miedema, B., & Tatemichi, S. (2008). The needs of depressed women: Perspectives of family physicians. Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community, 35(2), 63-76.
Lafrance, M.N., & Stoppard, J.M. (2006). Constructing a non-depressed self: Women's accounts of recovery from depression. Feminism & Psychology, 16(3), 307-325.
McMullen, L.M, & Stoppard, J.M. (2006). Woman and depression: A case study of the influence of feminism in Canadian psychology. Feminism & Psycholgy, 16(3), 273-288.
Stoppard, J.M., McMullen, L.M. (2003). Situating sadness: Women and depression in social context. New York: New York University Press.
Stoppard, J.M. (2002). Navigating the hazards of orthodoxy: Introducing a graduate course on qualitative methods into the psychology curriculum. Canadian Psychology, 43(3), 143-153.
Stoppard, J.M. (2000). Understanding depression: Feminist social constructionist approaches. London: Routledge.
Gammell, D.J., & Stoppard, J.M. (1999). Women's experiences of treatment depression: Medicalization or empowerment? Canadian Psychology, 40(2), 112-128.
Scattolon, Y., & Stoppard, J.M. (1999). "Getting on with life": Women's experiences and ways of coping with depression. Canadian Pscyhology, 40(2), 205-219.
Stoppard, J.M. (1998). Dis-ordering depression in women: Toward a materialist-discursive account. Theory & Psychology, 8(1), 79-99.
Stoppard, J.M., & Gunn Gruchy, C.D. (1993). Gender, context, and expression of positive emotion. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 19(2), 143-150.
Stoppard, J.M. (1989). An evaluation of the adequacy of cognitive/behavioural theories for understanding depression in women. Canadian Psychology, 30(1), 39-47.
Photo Gallery
Janet Stoppard
Birth:
1945
Death:
2024
Training Location(s):
PhD, Queen's University (Canada) (1976)
MSc, Queen's University (Northern Ireland) (1968)
BSc, Exeter University (1966)
Primary Affiliation(s):
Health Sciences Centre Hospital, University of British Columbia (1976-1977)
St. Thomas University (1978-1979)
University of New Brunswick (1979-2008)
Manchester Metropolitan University (Honorary Professor) (2008-2024)
Psychology’s Feminist Voices Oral History Interview:
Career Focus:
Women and depression; older women's everyday lives; qualitative research methods in psychology.
Biography
As a teenager Janet Stoppard decided she would study psychology. Her decision was based not on passion, but on practicality. Growing up in England, the education system required that by 15 years of age a student dedicate their next 3 years of education to a science or humanities stream. As a student of science, Stoppard could not imagine a career in physics or chemistry, although she did wonder about mathematics. In her final year of high school, she attended a student conference that focused on different educational and career directions. It was the mid-1960s and everyone was talking about 'psychology.' At the time you needed a science background to pursue a psychology degree and conveniently, Stoppard had one.
During her undergraduate education Stoppard recalled thinking, "when are we going to get to the good stuff?" Despite her disappointment in psychology, however, she went on to do Master's level training, as the National Health Services in the United Kingdom hired and financed students to complete clinical training in psychology. It was a practical direction that fit with the path she was on and allowed her to earn a salary.
After several years of working in England and Northern Ireland, Stoppard emigrated to Canada. Landing in Halifax, Nova Scotia, it quickly became apparent that to work in psychology she would need a PhD. Stoppard earned her doctorate and developed her feminism at Queen's University in Ontario.
During her time at Queen's, students and the surrounding community were driving the development of a women's centre on campus. As an example of the impact of the women's centre, Stoppard spoke of one of the many talks that the centre hosted, on issues of women's health and violence:
"Somebody came from the local police ... she couldn't understand why we were so interested in this topic of violence against women, so she said, 'How many women in this group have experienced some kind of assault?' And virtually every woman in the room put their hand up."
Many books with feminist ideas were circulating. It was an exciting time, and the politics made sense to Stoppard. In the psychology department there was a group of people who were interested in the social psychology of gender and this group made it possible for Stoppard to bring her 'extracurricular interests' into her academics.
Although Stoppard was training in clinical psychology at Queen's University, she was able to complete her dissertation with anyone from the department and she chose to work with a social psychologist. Her work looked at gender stereotypes and it confirmed for her the importance of social context, that humans and human experience cannot be reduced and manipulated within a laboratory. However, this insight was not cemented for Stoppard until some time later when she decided to dedicate her work to what were then considered 'fringe' research methods.
After her PhD, Stoppard struggled to find employment partly because her supervisor was on sabbatical in Europe and could not assist her, and partly because of sex discrimination. Eventually Stoppard found work at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, and in time took on a position as Dean of Graduate Studies, the first woman in this role, and one of the first women to hold an upper level administrative position. There was pressure for her to continue climbing the ladder of administrative success, but she found it stressful and burnt out. She missed having the time for scholarly work and was exhausted by the mentality of other administrators who looked down on researchers. Thus, she resigned. After resigning, things shifted for Stoppard and she was able to become more fully the feminist researcher she wanted to be.
During her "administration leave," she aligned herself with Jane Ussher at the University College London. It was through her relationship with Ussher that she was able to meet other British psychologists whose work she had been reading. Meeting women like Paula Nicolson and Lucy Yardley, she felt more connected with "what was going on" in feminist psychology. Following her time in London, Stoppard wrote a paper on understanding women and depression from a non-mainstream, feminist perspective. This paper was a turning point for Stoppard and afterwards she only taught and worked with qualitative methods at the University of New Brunswick. No more mainstream stances! In 2000, she published her influential book Understanding Depression: Feminist Social Constructionist Approaches, and became widely known for her work on women's mental health.
Reflecting upon her career and the current state of psychology in her 2007 interview, Stoppard reported feeling like it was harder for young people in the field who wanted to take on a feminist approach. She felt that contemporary psychology had grown more conservative and was less willing to engage with social justice issues. As a result, she encountered many young students who chose to be more conservative for professional gain. She was disappointed that the "different ways of doing psychology" had not had a stronger impact on North American psychology.
While maybe not 'discipline-shattering,' I feel that these alternative approaches have had an impact, and work like Janet Stoppard's continues to inspire young researchers like myself who are comfortable doing things a little differently.
Indeed, Janet's work has made a difference, and qualitative inquiry in psychology has been growing in popularity and influence since 2007. Upon her retirement, she moved back to England and spent the last years of her life in Manchester, where she was active in local causes and closer to family. She died after a brief illness on June 5, 2024.
by Jenna MacKay (2010); updated 2024.
To cite this article, see Credits
Selected Works
Stoppard, J.M., Thomas-Maclean, R., Miedema, B., & Tatemichi, S. (2008). The needs of depressed women: Perspectives of family physicians. Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community, 35(2), 63-76.
Lafrance, M.N., & Stoppard, J.M. (2006). Constructing a non-depressed self: Women's accounts of recovery from depression. Feminism & Psychology, 16(3), 307-325.
McMullen, L.M, & Stoppard, J.M. (2006). Woman and depression: A case study of the influence of feminism in Canadian psychology. Feminism & Psycholgy, 16(3), 273-288.
Stoppard, J.M., McMullen, L.M. (2003). Situating sadness: Women and depression in social context. New York: New York University Press.
Stoppard, J.M. (2002). Navigating the hazards of orthodoxy: Introducing a graduate course on qualitative methods into the psychology curriculum. Canadian Psychology, 43(3), 143-153.
Stoppard, J.M. (2000). Understanding depression: Feminist social constructionist approaches. London: Routledge.
Gammell, D.J., & Stoppard, J.M. (1999). Women's experiences of treatment depression: Medicalization or empowerment? Canadian Psychology, 40(2), 112-128.
Scattolon, Y., & Stoppard, J.M. (1999). "Getting on with life": Women's experiences and ways of coping with depression. Canadian Pscyhology, 40(2), 205-219.
Stoppard, J.M. (1998). Dis-ordering depression in women: Toward a materialist-discursive account. Theory & Psychology, 8(1), 79-99.
Stoppard, J.M., & Gunn Gruchy, C.D. (1993). Gender, context, and expression of positive emotion. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 19(2), 143-150.
Stoppard, J.M. (1989). An evaluation of the adequacy of cognitive/behavioural theories for understanding depression in women. Canadian Psychology, 30(1), 39-47.