Garson Leder, PhD

Clinical Ethics Fellow 2020-21

Dr. Leder is an Assistant Professor in the Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Leder received his PhD from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver with a focus on philosophy of medicine, especially psychiatry. His research program focuses on what mental disorders are, and how different conceptions of "mental disorder" affect medical treatment, social attitudes, and patients’ understandings of their conditions and their prospects of recovery.

Dr. Leder has published and presented research on the theoretical foundations of cognitive behavioral therapy, the relationship between theory and therapy in treatment, the mechanisms of change in psychotherapy, and informed consent in psychotherapy. Leder also works as a clinical ethicist at Froedtert Hospital and serves on multiple affiliated ethics committees. Dr. Leder is currently involved in empirical and conceptual research on decisional capacity, medically inappropriate treatment, and informed consent.