Rita Watson, M.P.H., is a journalist, editor, and policy specialist.  She blogs weekly for Psychology Today and is a regular editorial page columnist writing Op-ed features for The Providence Journal. She is also one of the Relationship Columnists for the paper’s “All About You” section and contributes to health news in “Thrive.”

Yale years, Medicine and Law: During her 10 years with The Times she received her Master in Public Health degree from the Yale School of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health. Her focus was patient advocacy. She also attended the Yale Law School for graduate work with Dean Guido Calabresi (currently US Circuit Court Judge) Yale Law School | Guido Calabresi and the late ethics scholar Dr. Jay Katz, physician and professor who tackled the issues and boundaries between law, medicine, psychology, and ethics.

Policy specialist: Ms. Watson remained at Yale as a public policy advocate for children and families including drafting legislation requiring therapeutic day care for babies of chemically dependent mothers. She was Spokesperson for child care legislation through Yale’s Bush Center in Child Development and Social Policy and later Director of Policy and Education for the Department of Psychiatry. While at Partner’s Health Care, she continued work in communications and interfaced with legal on issues of confidentiality and policy.

Her special interest is in the area of Alzheimer’s/ Bio/Books.