Dr Joanna Fox

Associate Professor (Social Work)
Faculty:
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Social Care
School:
School of Allied Health and Social Care
Location:
Cambridge
Areas of Expertise:
Social Work and Social Policy
Research Supervision:
Yes

Dr Joanna Fox is a qualified and registered SWE Social Worker. Her interests are in mental health, the recovery approach, family carers, and research led and supported by service users and carers who have themselves experienced or cared for someone with mental ill-health.

[email protected]

Background

Joanna's interests are in developing research with patients and public who have themselves experienced disability, illness, or cared for someone who has. She has a keen interest in supporting the involvement of service users and carers in training social work students.

Her PhD, completed in 2013, focused on the role of family carers in supporting people with mental health needs, and their commitment and interest in the recovery approach. This work has been further developed with the receipt of two successful internal research bids into a blended learning programme currently being delivered and evaluated.

Research interests
  • Service user involvement in social work education
  • Service user involvement in research
  • Recovery approach in mental health
  • The role of carers in supporting people with mental ill health
  • Shared decision-making in mental health medication management
  • Blended learning and participatory research

Joanna is very interested in developing the service user voice in all aspects of social work education, research and support. This is particularly in connection with mental health service research and monitoring and the development of the recovery approach.

Areas of research supervision

Joanna would be pleased to consider supervising doctoral students with the following research interests/topics:

  • Service user involvement in research
  • Service user involvement in education
  • Recovery concept and its relevance for mental health services
  • Supporting the role of mental health carers
  • Increasing representation of service users and carers in influencing and designing mental health services
Teaching

BA (Hons) Social Work:

  • Contemporary Issues in Social Work Practice (second year module)
  • Research: evaluating knowledge and evidence in practice (first year module) 
Qualifications
  • Postgraduate Certificate in (HE) Teaching and Learning, Anglia Ruskin University 2013-2014
  • PhD, Anglia Ruskin University 2007-2013
  • BTEC in Management Studies, Hertfordshire Regional College, 2007
  • MA in Mental Health Professional Practice, Anglia Ruskin University 1999-2003
  • Diploma in Social Work, Anglia Ruskin University 1995-1997
  • BA Joint Hons, Durham University 1990-1993
Memberships, editorial boards
  • SWE Registered Social Worker
  • Senior Fellow of the HEA 
Research grants, consultancy, knowledge exchange
  • Service user member of Lived Experience Advisory Panel, Refocus on Recovery, Institute of Psychiatry
  • Anglia Ruskin Learning and Teaching Fellowship Award: An evaluation of the use of concept maps in social work education
  • Anglia Ruskin Learning and Teaching Fellowship Award: Developing best practice in service user education across health and social care
Selected recent publications

Fox, J., Smith, A., Driver, P., e Sa Vasconcelos, D., 2022. Teaching family carers about the recovery concept in mental health: An exploration of the potential impact of utilising an online programme. Journal of Recovery in mental health, 5(1), pp. 46-65.

Fox, J., Dean, J., Amas, D., 2021. Involving people with lived experiences in role-play assessment in social work education in England:  implications for practice. Practice: Social Work in Action. doi: 10.1080/09503153.2021.2010694

Videmšek P., Fox, J., 2021. Covid-19: Can this pandemic trigger  innovation in social work practice in Slovenia and England? American Journal of Biomedical Science and Research, 14(2). doi: 10.34297/AJBSR.2021.14.001977

Fox, J. 2021. Models Underpinning Mental Health: A Proposal for A User-Based Framework. American Journal of Biomedical Science and Research, 13(3). pp. 228-234. doi: 10.34297/AJBSR.2021.13.001863. ISI Impact Factor: 1.042

Fox, J., 2021. Lived Experiences of Psychosis: Understanding the Gap Between Perception and Reality. Schizophrenia Bulletin, sbab065. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbab065

Fox, J., 2021. Shared Decision-Making: An Autoethnography About Service User Perspectives in Making Choices About Mental Health Care and Treatment. Front. Psychiatry, 12, 637560. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.637560

Fox, J., 2021. Exorcising memories of internalised stigma: the demons of lived experience. World Journal of Psychiatry, 11(3), pp. 63-72 doi: 10.5498/wjp.v11.i3.63.

Fox, J., 2021. A reflection on the value of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for promoting good mental health in the workplace: a service user perspective. Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 49(3), pp. 362-370. doi: 10.1080/03069885.2021.1897087

Fox, J., 2020. Perspectives of experts-by-experience: an exploration of lived experience involvement in social work education. Social Work Education. doi: 10.1080/02615479.2020.1861244

Fox, J., 2020. Experiences of user involvement in mental health research: exploring reflections from a service user researcher using auto-ethnography. Mental Health Review Journal, 25(3), pp. 281-294. doi: 10.1108/MHRJ-11-2019-0040

Fox, J., Gasper, R., 2020. The choice to disclose (or not) mental health ill-health in UK higher education institutions: a duoethnography by two female academics. Journal of Organizational Ethnography, 9(3), pp. 295-309. doi: 10.1108/JOE-11-2019-0040

Fox, J., Videmšek, P., 2019. Looking back, looking forward: using a duoethnographic study to explore the role of personal positioning in social work education in the UK and Slovenia. European Journal of Social Work. doi: 10.1080/13691457.2019.1689927

Fox, J., Videmsek, P., 2019. Exploring the mental health and spiritual recovery of an expert-by-experience: a discussion of the unique contribution social workers can make to support this journey. Ljetopis Socijalnog Rada, Annual of Social Work, 26(2), pp. 235-256. doi: 10.3935/ljsr.v26i2.266. In Web of Science this journal has a Category rank of 44/44 and is in Q4.

Recent presentations and conferences

Fox, J., April 2021. Local journey of mental health. Social Power and Mental Health (Online), CRASSH, University of Cambridge (invited speaker).

Fox, J., Smith, A., March 2021. Teaching family carers about the recovery concept in mental health: An exploration of its potential impact. FHEMS Research Conference (Online) (abstract peer reviewed).

Fox, J., Pinfold, V., November 2020. Decision making concerning the use of medication by pregnant women experiencing mental ill health. CPFT, Cambridge University Hospitals Trust R&D, University of Hertfordshire Conference on Shared Decision Making in the 2020 and Beyond (Online) (invited speaker).

Fox, J. R., September 2019. Promoting good mental health in the workplace for people who experience mental ill-health: an insider perspective. Refocus on Recovery, Nottingham.