In this interview, Brooke Siem, who is the author of a memoir on antidepressant withdrawal, May Cause Side Effects, interviews Gretchen LeFever Watson, PhD.

Gretchen is a developmental and clinical psychologist with postdoctoral training in pediatric psychology. She has served as a professor in multiple disciplines at universities and medical schools in the United States and abroad and as the patient safety director for a large healthcare system. She secured millions in federal funding to study the epidemiology of psychiatric drug use and to develop community-based strategies that reduce reliance on psychiatric labels and medications—strategies that also improved educational outcomes.

In 2008, BMJ recognized her as one of 100 international scientists journalists could count on for unbiased reviews of health research. Dr. Watson is an academic affiliate at the University of South Carolina and the author of the Amazon bestseller Your Patient Safety Survival Guide: How to Protect Yourself and Others from Medical Errors. She lives in Virginia Beach and loves to windsurf.

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