Katharina Meredith

Katharina Meredith is a doctoral student in Community Psychology at Georgia State University and a Graduate Research Assistant with the Violent Extremism Research Group under the mentorship of Dr. John Horgan. Her research interests include exit from extremism, the identity of current and former members, intervention, program development, evaluation, and dissemination and implementation science. While she considers herself a mixed-methods researcher, her Master’s thesis on post-exit distress and coping ignited a strong passion for doing interviews and focus groups, as well as reflexive thematic analysis. Her other projects include the evaluation of a 211 helpline and the development of helpline protocols for inquiries regarding violent extremism. She is currently developing a job analysis of the role formers fill in the exit space, and is developing a peer specialist curriculum for former violent extremists. She has collaborated with Parents for Peace, Life After Hate, and the International Cultic Studies Association, and has developed and taught workshops in Germany for people who grew up in coercive groups. She has published peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in German and English. She is the co-founder of Stronger After and co-developer of a 5-unit peer support and psychoeducational curriculum for people who experienced coercive control in groups. Katharina has moderated panels and working groups for the European Radicalization Awareness Network, Southern Poverty Law Center, and ICSA. She has lived in six countries and calls Atlanta her home together with her family, dogs, cats, and likes hiking and foraging.