Jo Watson is a psychotherapist, writer and activist who, in 2016, had had enough of the pathologising of normal human experience and decided to do something about it. She approached Lucy Johnstone and together they hosted the first A Disorder for Everyone event, challenging the culture of diagnosis and disorder. Adisorder4everyone.com
Ten years and more than 200 events later, AD4E and its corresponding Facebook community, Drop The Disorder!, reach more than 90,000 people across social platforms and have grown into an international network of resisters, dissenters and change makers.
Through events including the annual AD4E Festival, the Drop The Disorder books, poetry and activism, Jo continues to bring together people who reject the disease model and believe that emotional distress is rooted in adversity, trauma and the impact of oppressive power systems.
Jo lives with her wife, Pat, and cocker spaniel, Reilly, in Worcestershire and enjoys swimming in lakes, kayaking on rivers and befriending swans.