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A new study investigating found that psychiatrists responded to patient complaints about their relationships by prescribing antidepressants

“As it became less acceptable to overtly diagnose homosexuality, it became increasingly acceptable to diagnose threats to female-male relationships as conditions that required psychiatric intervention,”

How do you identify?

Words matter. It took much discussion before we landed on the term psychiatric survivor. Other terms that are often used include consumer, peer, lived experience, and service user.We chose survivor because it is a term that has been used historically by people with lived experience of psychiatrization and communicates a critical stance, although not an outright rejection of, psychiatry.Survivor recognizes our struggle and accomplishment as people who live with mental distress, with or in spite of, mental health services and professionals.We recognize the term survivor may not work for everyone so we are utilizing a reflexive processes in our work so that if terminology needs to change to reflect our values, it will. We feel it is important to us to be organic and inclusive, yet still led by our common values. We also use the neurodiversity to refer to the broad spectrum of behaviours we see in our society. By using this term, we accept that there is no right or wrong, normal or abnormal, way to behave. It is all a matter of perspective.How do you identify? What words or terms do you use?

#madstudies psychiatricsurvior neurodiversity

iamryanhenly

madsoc-ca-blog

Love this!

#neurodiversity #madstudies #acceptance #psychiatricalternatives

An exciting new scholarship has been established at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) of the University of Toronto. Called “The Bonnie Burstow Scholarship in Antipsychiatry,” it is to be awarded annually to an OISE thesis student conducting antipsychiatry inquiry. What makes this initiative so important? It is a historical breakthrough. While academics have been conducting antipsychiatry research for well over for half a century now, this is the very first time that an award of this nature is available. As such, it signals to the world that this field of inquiry has come of age. The scholarship is being materialized at an opportune time. Key academics have demonstrated the enormous harm done by psychiatry (see Burstow 2015 and Breggin 2008), with the number of books and articles in this area rapidly growing. Correspondingly, as Whitaker (2010) argues, we have arrived at a moment where imminent action is called for, for we are now facing “an epidemic of iatrogenic [doctor-created] illness.” Given the overwhelmingly and disproportionate availability of “regular” scholarships for studying issues related to psychiatry, equity and academic freedom themselves require that antipsychiatry scholars, including exceptional ones, have more equitable access to scholarship support. Scholars at OISE, University of Toronto are at the centre of and at the cutting edge of much of this research. At present, the largest single group of antipsychiatry scholars anywhere in North America are the members of the Burstow thesis support group at OISE, which itself is attracting/inspiring scholars far and wide. This scholarship will add an additional magnet for attracting excellent future scholars. Correspondingly, already a wide range of exciting new forays into psychiatry are being made by these students. A possible precursor of a better society, this scholarship, in short, is part of a necessary synergy happening locally and globally that aims to foster research, policy, and social change informed by the critical resurgence of the antipsychiatry movement. This is a matching scholarship in which Dr. Bonnie Burstow will match up to $50,000 dollars in donations from others. Please visit donate.utoronto.ca/Bonnie-Burstow-Scholarship to make your gift today. Thank you in advance for your support!

idrawhumans

Spread the word.

Image is handwritten words “neurodiversity is natural” in yellow, over a beige background, with doodles of leaves and acorns in green and brown.

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#Neurodiversity is the future.

#madstudies

k-pagination

As I have various discussions about mental health and disability on the internet, I am disturbed at how many people continue to use the terms “high functioning” and “low functioning” when referring to people with psychiatric or other disabilities. I have heard people refer to their family members as “low functioning.” I have seen these terms used by advocates to bully and discredit other advocates who critique calls for increased levels of involuntary treatment as “high functioning” individuals who don’t know what they’re talking about.

barbarianarchy-deactivated20200

In Bruce Levine's career he as spoken with hundreds of people diagnosed with ODD & ADHD. An astonishing number of these people are also anti-authoritarians.

Our latest newsletter is out! New database, forum, and more!

#madstudies #community of practice #unrecovery #recovery

A central part of the history of survivor advocacy and alternatives.

“Vancouver’s MPA (Mental Patients Association) was formed in 1970-71 as a grassroots response to deinstitionalization and tragic gaps in community mental health. Inverting traditional mental health hierarchies, the group put former patients and sympathetic lay supporters in charge. MPA provided homes, work and a sense of belonging and self-determination to ex-patients.

Working collaboratively with academic scholars and talented young artists and film-makers, a group of early MPA members created this 36-minute documentary. Provocative, passionate and engaging, our film has something important to say about social justice, community-building and mental health today.”

#madstudies #psychiatricalternatives #mpa

Wow.

This came out in 2005.

We still forcibly treat people in BC, Canada, and other places around the world.

http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/art11plenary.htm

#noncoercivepractices madmovement madstudies mentalhealth humanrights