Dr Alison Davies

Professional biography

Research interests

My research has focused on the discursive work performed by families and individuals affected by health and mental health related issues. I am interested in issues around parenting, in particular, how identities are constructed within discourse and how individuals take up and resist these identities in everyday practices.

Methodologically, I am mainly (but not exclusively) interested in critical approaches to social psychology, including discursive, psychoanalytic, phenomenological and feminist approaches.  

Select Publications

Stenner, P., O’Dell, L. & Davies, A. (2019) Adult women and ADHD: On the temporal dimensions of ADHD identities. The Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour

O’Dell L, Earle S, Rixon A and Davies, A. (2018) Role of peer support for people with a spinal cord injury. Nursing Standard. doi: 10.7748/ns. 2018.e10869

Horton-Salway, M. and Davies, A. (2018) The Discourse of ADHD: Perspectives on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.  Palgrave/Macmillan

Davies, A. & Horton-Salway, M. (2016). ‘The Construction of Adult ADHD: Anna’s Story’. In the Palgrave Handbook of Adult Mental Health, (Michelle O’Reilly and Jessica Nina Lester (Eds.). Palgrave Macmillan, 2016, pp. 117 - 134

Davies, A. and Horton-Salway, M. (2016). Why focus on discourse?  Discursive Psychology and Identity. In Investigating Psychology 3, (Ness, H., Kaye, H. & Stenner, P. (Eds.) The Open University, 2016, pp 389 – 435

Horton-Salway, M and Davies, A. (2015). Moral Evaluations in Repertoires of ADHD. In the Palgrave Handbook of Child Mental Health. (Michelle O’Reilly and Jessica Nina Lester (Eds.). Palgrave/Macmillan, 2015, pp. 158-174

Davies, A. (2011) ‘Counselling children: Values and practice’.  In Working with Children and Young People: Co-constructing Practice (Lindsay O’Dell and Steve Leverett (Eds.) Open University Reader for modules: work with children, young people and families in Scotland (K229) Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan

I have been involved in module production, for several OU Psychology modules, contributing material to the online VLE materials for DD317 Advancing Social Psychology; authoring a chapter for the DE300 Investigating Psychology 3 core text book, and authoring a chapter for the post-graduate module DD801: Principles of Social and Psychological Inquiry.

I have taught as an AL on the Psychology modules DE300, D317, D240, and, previously, DD307​