Dr Alison Fixsen

Dr Alison Fixsen


Dr Alison Fixsen is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Westminster. She has extensive experience of life sciences and social sciences. Her recent work spans a range of subjects related to mental health including eating disorders, psychoactive drug management and dependency, self care and professional well-being initiatives and social prescribing. She has published peer reviewed articles and book chapters in areas of psychology, sociology, health sciences and education, including  a number of ethnography and autoethnography studies. She is presently writing a book on eating disorders and disordered eating from a social constructionist perspective.


2023: Principal Investigator: improving the management of prescription drugs with dependency risks in those exiting the criminal justice system (on-going)

2021: Principal Investigator- Green social prescribing during and post Covid: a UK based study.

2020: Principal Investigator: Pathways and barriers to social prescribing:  Co-producing initiatives which address social and health inequalities in urban areas (Community funding). 

2018-19: Co-investigator: NHS funded evaluation of a social prescribing scheme in Shropshire.

2019: Co-investigator National Lottery funded social prescribing outcomes project. 

2018 - 2019 Co-investigator University of Malaysia funded project on orthorexia nervosa.

2012-15: Principal Investigator: ‘Netography’ of benzodiazepine user stories of withdrawal and recovery, which has been widely read and discussed among stakeholders including those in the BZD virtual community. 

 2010-2014:  Principal Investigator on 2 university based research studies, the first investigating the emotion work of final year students undergoing personal and professional development (PPD) and clinical training (Fixsen and Ridge 2012), and the other a secondary analysis of level 4 and 5 student experiences of this programme (Fixsen et al. 2015). 

2013-17 (Doctorate): Ethnographic exploration of staff experiences of Learning and Development programmes. 

1995- 1996:  Joint Principal Investigator on a randomised trial of homeopathic versus standard care in the treatment of otitis media with effusion in children, later published in two journals. 


In brief

Research areas

critical mental health

Skills / expertise

qualitative researcher

Supervision interests

mental health, the construction of eating disorders, prescribed drug dependency