*** Our next psychiatric drug withdrawal town hall discussion will be held on May 14 2021, register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/150023595613 *** This week on the MIA podcast we are providing the audio taken from our recent psychiatric drug withdrawal town hall held in March 2021. This discussion was aired live on March 12, 2021 and the panelists are Dr Giovanni Fava, Dr Peter Groot, Dr Mark Horowitz and Professor Joanna Moncrieff. For this discussion, we asked what science and research can tell us about the experience of withdrawal. We discuss research effort that has called into question long-held professional beliefs about the effects of psychotropic drugs on the brain and nervous system. Panelists Giovanni Fava Dr Giovanni Fava is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He has authored more than 500 scientific papers and performed groundbreaking research in several fields. He is editor-in-chief of the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. Peter Groot Dr Peter Groot is a researcher who started using antidepressants. His own experiences helped him to develop a practical solution proposed by many patients to help prevent withdrawal problems from antidepressants and other psychotropic drugs. Mark Horowitz Dr Mark Horowitz is a training psychiatrist and psychiatric academic at University College London who is currently coming off psychiatric drugs. His work and research focuses on how to safely stop psychiatric medication. Joanna Moncrieff Dr Joanna Moncrieff is a psychiatrist based in community mental health services in North East London. She also teaches and researches at University College London. Joanna is one of the founding members and the co-chairperson of the Critical Psychiatry Network.