معرفی
Professor Carla Willig is a leading scholar at City St George's, University of London, affiliated with the School of Health and Psychological Sciences. A pioneer in qualitative research methodology, she bridges health psychology, counselling psychology, and existential analysis through both empirical and theoretical work.
- Key academic roles at University of Plymouth (1991-93), Middlesex University (1993-99), and City University London (1999-present)
- Editorial leadership: Associate Editor of Journal of Health Psychology, member of Qualitative Research in Psychology and Journal of Psychological Therapies boards
- Professional memberships: British Psychological Society (Divisions of Health & Counselling Psychology), Health and Care Professions Council, International Society of Critical Health Psychology, Society for Existential Analysis
Her research interests focus on the intersection between qualitative methodology and health/counselling psychology, particularly:
- Discourse analysis of medical conditions (e.g., AMD, cancer)
- Phenomenological exploration of lived experiences
- Deconstruction of aging, disability, and treatment narratives
- Existential approaches to psychotherapy
- Ethical challenges in qualitative interpretation
- Methodological pluralism in mental health research
Recent collaborative work with Jamie Enoch and Ahalya Subramanian on age-related macular degeneration (2025) demonstrates her commitment to secondary discourse analysis of lived experience data. She has published extensively on topics including:
- Foucauldian analysis of AMD narratives
- Existential uncertainty in cancer care
- 12-step recovery discourse
- Hyper-empathy as a psychological phenomenon
- Gendered transitions to fatherhood
As author of the best-selling textbook Introducing Qualitative Research in Psychology (4 editions, 2001-2021) and co-editor of The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research in Psychology (2008, 2017), her methodological contributions have shaped psychology education internationally. Her work often employs:
- Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)
- Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA)
- Critical realist perspectives
- Existentialist-informed methods
