Jan Haaken

Janice Kay "Jan" Haaken (born March 2, 1947) is an American clinical psychologist, documentarian, and professor emeritus of Community and Clinical Psychology in the Department of Psychology at Portland State University.

Haaken is the author of three books and co-editor of a collection of essays, many of which focus on trauma, memory, and the role of storytelling in social movements. She has directed six feature-length documentaries and a series of short films. Her work as a filmmaker tends to focus on the work of people on the "social margins" and those who perform typically misunderstood and stressful jobs. where she finished with an associate degree in 1969. Haaken first worked as a psychiatric nurse in a children's clinic at the University of Washington Medical Center between 1969 and 1973 before re-enrolling at the University of Washington to continue her studies, storytelling and domestic violence, to psychological trauma.

Haaken's first book, Pillar of Salt: Gender, Memory, and the Perils of Looking Back, was published by Rutgers University Press in June 2000. In Pillar of Salt, Haaken explores controversy over recollections of childhood sexual abuse as part of a larger questioning of the nature of memory, storytelling, and the psychology of women. The book followed debates about multiple personality disorder, Satanic ritual abuse, and pedophilia which dominated mental health work in the nineties. Haaken hosts a monthly "Left and the Law" segment and frequently contributes interviews and other commentary segments.

Haaken played a major role in the creation of Portland State University's Walk of the Heroines, serving on the board of directors and executive committee, among holding other positions. The project was completed in June 2011 and pays tribute to women's contributions to and accomplishments within society and culture. Haaken herself is honored on the walk.

Filmmaking Haaken's work as a documentary filmmaker focuses on people who perform stressful jobs, as well as marginalized members of American society. She practices participatory action research and is influenced by psychoanalysis, feminist theory, and critical psychology in her filmmaking. Haaken has directed six feature documentaries and a number of short films since 2005, as well as worked as a writer and producer.

2006–2010: Early Film Work In 2006, Haaken directed Diamonds, Guns, and Rice, an examination of the Sierra Leone Civil War, with her son, Caleb Heymann. She revisited Sierra Leone in the 2008 documentary film Moving to the Beat, co-directed by Abdul Fofanah and Heymann and produced by Haaken. Moving to the Beat follows an American hip-hop group journeying to Freetown, Sierra Leone and explores the relationship between Black Americans and Africans and the roots of the hip-hop genre.

Queens of Heart: Community Therapists in Drag, released in 2006, follows the story of Darcelle XV, the longest-surviving drag club in the United States. The film began as a psychological study of drag performance by Haaken and several Portland State University graduate students and was later developed into a full-length documentary. The film incorporates elements of psychology into its story and aimed to challenge public opinion of the psychology of drag performance.

Guilty Except for Insanity: Maddening Journeys Through an Asylum, released in 2010, explores the interconnection between the American criminal justice and mental healthcare systems by following the lives of employees as well as patients at the Oregon State Hospital who were admitted on the basis of a plea of criminal insanity.

2011–2018: Mind Zone and Milk Men Haaken on the set of Mind Zone: Therapists Behind the Front Lines. 2014's Mind Zone: Therapists Behind the Front Lines follows a group of therapists carrying out two conflicting missions with the 113th Army Combat Stress Control detachment. Work on Mind Zone began in 2010 when Haaken proposed a documentary on mental health practices within the American military to the U.S. Army. Haaken states she was moved to produce the film by the military's increased reliance on psychologists to not only treat but prevent the negative psychiatric effects of warfare, in part due to growing rates of post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide among veterans.

2019: Our Bodies Our Doctors On International Women's Day on March 8, 2019, Our Bodies Our Doctors premiered at the 42nd Portland International Film Festival, Only a handful of the "maybe 40 or 50" providers Haaken approached prior to filming agreed to be featured in the film; Haaken has stated she feels this is reflective of ongoing stigma and potential of violence surrounding abortion care. About ten patients receiving abortions agreed to have their procedures filmed, though their identities were kept anonymous. Haaken states her hope that Our Bodies Our Doctors would bring the topic of abortion into everyday conversation and destigmatize abortion for both women seeking care and medical staff who provide that care. Necessity began its festival run in 2020 and was made available for educational purposes by the Zinn Education Project in 2020 and released by Collective Eye in early 2021. The film was awarded the "Spirit of Activism" prize at the February 2021 Colorado Environmental Film Festival, and showed at a number of other events, including the Italian Life After Oil, the Eugene Environmental Film Festival, AmDocs, and SunCommon's Climate Action Film Festival.

In October 2020, Haaken's team announced via social media that a sequel with the working title Necessity: Part II, following the continued fight against fossil fuels in the Pacific Northwest, was in the works. Necessity Part II: Rails, Rivers, and the Thin Green Line began limited virtual showings in December 2021, with a planned premiere at the Kiggins Theatre in Vancouver, Washington on January 9, 2022, though that screening was later rescheduled due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. The film ultimately premiered on March 20, 2022, with the title Necessity: Climate Justice and the Thin Green Line. The story narration of both Necessity and Necessity Part II is led by activist and tribal attorney Tara Houska of the Couchiching First Nation and Part II is supported by activists from the Sunrise Movement, the town of Mosier, Oregon, Cager Clabaugh of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 4, students and teachers from the Portland metropolitan area, and others. Cathy Sampson-Kruse, elder and member of the Waluulapum band of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, is also featured heavily in the film.

2024–Present: The Palestine Exception In 2024, Haaken co-directed The Palestine Exception with Jennifer Ruth. The documentary examines what has been described as a "new McCarthyism" on U.S. college campuses following the October 7, 2023 attacks and the subsequent war on Gaza. The film focuses on the "Palestine exception" to academic freedom, documenting the experiences of students and faculty facing censorship and disciplinary action for pro-Palestinian activism. It premiered at the 2025 Chicago Palestine Film Festival and won Best Documentary Feature at the 2025 Morehouse College Human Rights Film Festival.