Jean Mercer (born October 16, 1941) is an educator and writer best known as an advocate for children who are adopted or come from the foster care system.
She founded and is a leader of the controversial advocacy group, Advocates for Children in Therapy.
She has been an outspoken critic of Reactive attachment disorder (RAD) therapies and is the author of several books, including Thinking critically about child development: examining myths and misunderstandings.
Mercer's articles on attachment disorder, harmful psychological treatments and other mental health issues have been published in peer reviewed journals.
She has presented at conferences internationally, made television appearances, served as editor for an industry newsletter, and authors two blogs, Childmyths and The Study of Nonsense.