Informed by both psychoanalysis and feminism, as well as her involvement in social movements, Haaken's scholarship has focused on range of topics including the symbolic and political significance of recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse,[7] storytelling and domestic violence,[8] to psychological trauma.

[10] 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.

Haaken wrote the book to offer a new perspective on post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a clinical and social phenomenon, topics she has explored in earlier work, including the film Mind Zone.

[11] In 1993, Haaken collaborated with fellow scholar and activist Johanna Brenner in establishing In Other Words, a feminist community center and bookstore in Portland, OR's Killingsworth neighborhood.

[6][12] 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 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.

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.

[27] Haaken has been an active part in the feminist and reproductive rights movements since before the 1980s and was inspired to make Our Bodies Our Doctors by witnessing ongoing violence and harassment targeted at abortion providers.

[29] Our Bodies Our Doctors has been endorsed by reproductive rights activists, including Gloria Steinem, congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, former Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards.

[34] Necessity Part II: Rails, Rivers, and the Thin Green Line began limited virtual showings in December 2021,[35] 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 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.