Claudia Hoffmann is a PhD researcher in Global Health and Social Medicine at King’s College London. Her research examines how people with acquired mental health-related disabilities, such as those arising from trauma, come to recognise themselves as disabled, and how this recognition shapes disclosure in UK workplaces and institutions. She develops the concept of intrapersonal invisibility: disability that is hidden not only from others but from the self, through masking and dissociation.

The project combines qualitative interviews with autoethnographic analysis, and draws on stigma theory, research on masking, and work on organisational culture. It aims to inform how the Equality Act is applied in practice, identifying any gaps in how it works for disabled people, and to help organisations support their staff without requiring them to conceal their needs.

Before her PhD, Claudia worked in programme and project management in the private sector and the civil service. She holds a BA in Writing for Media from London South Bank University, including a year studying Journalism at Baruch College in New York, and an MA in Film Analysis from King’s College London.

Research 

Thesis Title: "Navigating Disclosure: The Invisible Self in UK Workplaces and Institutions"

Many people live with mental health conditions, such as trauma-related conditions, anxiety or depression, without recognising them as disabilities. This research asks how people with acquired mental health-related disabilities come to see themselves as disabled, and how this shapes whether they disclose at work and in other institutions. It explores intrapersonal invisibility: disability hidden not only from others but from the self, through masking and dissociation.

Using 30 to 40 qualitative interviews alongside autoethnographic analysis, the project examines how individual experience, organisational culture and legal frameworks interact, including gaps in the enforcement of the Equality Act. It aims to inform policy reform and to help organisations create environments where disabled people can be open about their needs.

PhD Supervision  

Principal Supervisor: Prof Ben Bromberg Geiger

Secondary Supervisor: Dr Tanisha Spratt