Joan Busfield is a British sociologist and psychologist, Professor of Sociology at the University of Essex

University of Essex

The University of Essex is a British campus university whose original and largest campus is near the town of Colchester, England. Established in 1963 and receiving its Royal Charter in 1965...

 and former President of the British Sociological Association

British Sociological Association

The British Sociological Association is a scholarly and professional society for sociologists in the United Kingdom, and was founded in 1951. They publish the academic journals Sociology, Work, Employment and Society and Cultural Sociology as well as their membership newsletter...

 (2003–2005). Her research focuses on psychiatry and mental disorder.

She originally trained as a clinical psychologist at the Tavistock Clinic

Tavistock Clinic

The in London was founded in 1920 by Dr. Hugh Crichton-Miller, a psychiatrist who developed psychological treatments for shell-shocked soldiers during and after the First World War. The clinic's first patient was, however, a child. Its clinical services were always, therefore, for both children...

, and holds an MA from St Andrews, and an MA and a PhD from Essex.

Selected publications

• J. Busfield & M. Paddon (1977), Thinking About Children: Sociology and Fertility in Post-War England
• J. Busfield (1986), Managing Madness: Changing Ideas and Practice
• J. Busfield (1996), Men, Women and Madness