Mass Psychosis is an exploration of Dr Giordana Hrga’s concept of social dysmorphia. It unveils the nuances of the search for self within a society where mental illness prevails in all forms. Snapshots of codes, patterns, and ancient symbols are drawn together through a maze of interconnecting personal memories. It is tragic, funny, despairing, and heart-warming in its authenticity, coloured with ample brush strokes of artistic license. The work is as black as it is bland, and as complex as it is simple. Mass Psychosis is a literary gestalt.

About the Author

Giordana Hrga was born in Trieste, Italy, of Croatian parents who migrated to Australia in 1959. Growing up in Redfern, New South Wales in the 1960’s, her family moved to Perth Western Australia. Giordana’s brief foray into the world of fashion was followed by university studies. Giordana completed her Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Western Australia.  Giordana has two sons, the youngest of whom was diagnosed with autism.

Giordana undertook ten years of education research and instructional design, and developed the Intensive Model for Autism of Instructional Excellence – I.M.A.G.IN.E. This Precision Teaching based program allows children with autism to double their learning within each year of instruction, and in some cases, has resulted in a change of diagnostic criteria for children originally diagnosed with autism.

Giordana currently resides in Melbourne, and is an Honorary Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne.