Icarus Project

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The Icarus Project (2002-2020) was a network of peer-support groups and media projects with the stated aim of changing the social stigmas regarding mental health. [1]

Contents

History

In 2002, Sascha Altman DuBrul wrote an article published in the San Francisco Bay Guardian about his experiences being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He founded the Icarus Project with Jacks McNamara, an artist and writer. The Project sought to create spaces where people could talk freely about their lived experiences in regards to their mental health. [2]

Years later, musician-activist Bonfire Madigan Shive [3] and counsellor/activist Will Hall became key members in The Icarus Project's administration and development. [4]

The Icarus Project's "Mission"

The Icarus Project's stated aims [5] were to provide a "support network and education project by and for people who experience the world in ways that are often diagnosed as mental illness." The responsibilities of the group are to gather people locally for support, and access to alternatives to mainstream medical diagnosis and treatment. [6] The Project advocates self-determination and caution when approaching psychiatric care. It encourages alternatives to the medical model that is accepted by mental health professionals.

In 2005, Journalist Jennifer Itzenson [7] noted that while the Icarus Project may accept those with a wide range of "perspectives" on mental health issues, there is also "an edge of militancy within the group," particularly among those who reject medication. Itzenson also writes that's the group's questioning of medical care is "misguided" and that rejecting medication is a "potentially fatal choice" for those with bipolar disorder.

While Icarus Project staff have described their expertise in social activism, herbalism, and labour organizing; none of them are licensed medical or mental health professionals. [8] The Icarus Project advisory board members describe their members as educators, artists, activists, writers, healers, community organizers, and other creative types. Some members of the group identify as Latinx, queer, trans, people of colour or mixed race, and trauma survivors. [8] [7]

Structure / funding

The Icarus Project was under the fiscal sponsorship of FJC, a non-profit 501(c)3 umbrella organization arm of an investment firm, based in New York City. The Icarus Project formerly got the bulk of its money from foundation grants, including the Ittleson Foundation, [1] but it also had many individual donors.

Publications

Educational materials published by The Icarus Project have been published in Spanish, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Greek, and Bosnian/Croatian. [9] Some of these publications are listed below:

Filmography

Films about Icarus Project members are listed below:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bipolar disorder</span> Mental disorder that causes periods of depression and abnormally elevated mood

Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that each last from days to weeks. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with psychosis, it is called mania; if it is less severe, it is called hypomania. During mania, an individual behaves or feels abnormally energetic, happy or irritable, and they often make impulsive decisions with little regard for the consequences. There is usually also a reduced need for sleep during manic phases. During periods of depression, the individual may experience crying and have a negative outlook on life and poor eye contact with others. The risk of suicide is high; over a period of 20 years, 6% of those with bipolar disorder died by suicide, while 30–40% engaged in self-harm. Other mental health issues, such as anxiety disorders and substance use disorders, are commonly associated with bipolar disorder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kay Redfield Jamison</span> American bipolar disorder researcher

Kay Redfield Jamison is an American clinical psychologist and writer. Her work has centered on bipolar disorder, which she has had since her early adulthood. She holds the post of the Dalio Professor in Mood Disorders and Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and is an Honorary Professor of English at the University of St Andrews.

A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is also characterized by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotional regulation, or behavior. It is usually associated with distress or impairment in important areas of functioning. There are many different types of mental disorders. Mental disorders may also be referred to as mental health conditions. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitting, or occur as single episodes. Many disorders have been described, with signs and symptoms that vary widely between specific disorders. Such disorders may be diagnosed by a mental health professional, usually a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist.

Mania, also known as manic syndrome, is a mental and behavioral disorder defined as a state of abnormally elevated arousal, affect, and energy level, or "a state of heightened overall activation with enhanced affective expression together with lability of affect." During a manic episode, an individual will experience rapidly changing emotions and moods, highly influenced by surrounding stimuli. Although mania is often conceived as a "mirror image" to depression, the heightened mood can be either euphoric or dysphoric. As the mania intensifies, irritability can be more pronounced and result in anxiety or anger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psychiatric hospital</span> Hospital specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders

Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals or behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative identity disorder, major depressive disorder and many others. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialize only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients. Others may specialize in the temporary or permanent containment of patients who need routine assistance, treatment, or a specialized and controlled environment due to a psychiatric disorder. Patients often choose voluntary commitment, but those whom psychiatrists believe to pose significant danger to themselves or others may be subject to involuntary commitment and involuntary treatment. Psychiatric hospitals may also be called psychiatric wards/units when they are a subunit of a regular hospital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borderline personality disorder</span> Personality disorder of emotional instability

Borderline personality disorder (BPD), also known as emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD), is a personality disorder characterized by a long-term pattern of intense and unstable interpersonal relationships, distorted sense of self, and strong emotional reactions. Those affected often engage in self-harm and other dangerous behaviors, often due to their difficulty with returning their emotional level to a healthy or normal baseline. They may also struggle with a feeling of emptiness, fear of abandonment, and dissociation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of psychology articles</span>

Psychology is an academic and applied discipline involving the scientific study of human mental functions and behavior. Occasionally, in addition or opposition to employing the scientific method, it also relies on symbolic interpretation and critical analysis, although these traditions have tended to be less pronounced than in other social sciences, such as sociology. Psychologists study phenomena such as perception, cognition, emotion, personality, behavior, and interpersonal relationships. Some, especially depth psychologists, also study the unconscious mind.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creativity and mental health</span> Concept in psychology

Links between creativity and mental health have been extensively discussed and studied by psychologists and other researchers for centuries. Parallels can be drawn to connect creativity to major mental disorders including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, OCD and ADHD. For example, studies have demonstrated correlations between creative occupations and people living with mental illness. There are cases that support the idea that mental illness can aid in creativity, but it is also generally agreed that mental illness does not have to be present for creativity to exist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health of Vincent van Gogh</span> Historical line of inquiry

There is no consensus on Vincent van Gogh's health. His death in 1890 is generally accepted to have been a suicide. Many competing hypotheses have been advanced as to possible medical conditions that he may have had. These include epilepsy, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, sunstroke, acute intermittent porphyria, lead poisoning, Ménière's disease, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, substance use disorder, non-suicidal self-injury disorder ("self-harm"), and a possible anxiety disorder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sascha Altman DuBrul</span> Musical artist

Sascha Altman DuBrul, a.k.a.Sascha DuBrul or Sascha Scatter, is an American activist, writer, farmer and punk rock musician known as the bass player of the 1990s ska-punk band Choking Victim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DSM-5</span> 2013 edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), is the 2013 update to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the taxonomic and diagnostic tool published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). In 2022, a revised version (DSM-5-TR) was published. In the United States, the DSM serves as the principal authority for psychiatric diagnoses. Treatment recommendations, as well as payment by health care providers, are often determined by DSM classifications, so the appearance of a new version has practical importance. However, not all providers rely on the DSM-5 for planning treatment as the ICD's mental disorder diagnoses are used around the world and scientific studies often measure changes in symptom scale scores rather than changes in DSM-5 criteria to determine the real-world effects of mental health interventions. The DSM-5 is the only DSM to use an Arabic numeral instead of a Roman numeral in its title, as well as the only living document version of a DSM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madigan Shive</span> American singer-songwriter

Madigan Shive, also known as Bonfire Madigan Shive, is an American songwriter, performing artist, community organizer, and musician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman E. Rosenthal</span> Psychiatrist, researcher, and author

Norman E. Rosenthal is an American author, psychiatrist and scientist who first described seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and developed light therapy as a treatment.

Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of deleterious mental conditions. These include various matters related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Will Hall (writer)</span>

Will Hall is an American mental health advocate, counselor, writer, and teacher. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, he is involved in the recovery approach in mental health and is an organizer within the psychiatric survivors movement. Hall advocates the recovery approach to mental illness and is involved in the treatment and social response to psychosis.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the psychiatric survivors movement:

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to psychiatry:

Ronald Robert Fieve was an American psychiatrist known for his work on the use of lithium in treatment of mood disorders. He has authored four popular science books, "Moodswing", "Bipolar II", "Prozac" and "Bipolar Breakthrough".

Anita Altman is an American social entrepreneur and city planner. She is the co-founder of ReelAbilities, America's largest film festival screening films by, or about, people with disabilities. Altman is an active Jewish feminist, and a member of New York's B’Nai Jeshrun synagogue. She is the mother of Sascha Altman DuBrul, co-founder of the Icarus Project.

References

  1. 1 2 DuBrul, Sascha Altman (17 July 2014). "The Icarus Project: A Counter Narrative for Psychic Diversity". Journal of Medical Humanities. 35 (3): 257–271. doi:10.1007/s10912-014-9293-5. PMID   25030378. S2CID   19672691.
  2. "HOME". HOME. Retrieved 2022-08-27.
  3. Packebush, Nina (May 12, 2014). "Mutha Interviews Bonfire Madigan Shive". Mutha Magazine. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  4. Newsweek Staff (May 1, 2009). "The Growing Push for "Mad Pride"". Newsweek. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  5. "Mission&Valuespage_TheIcarusProject". Archived from the original on 2020-05-13. Retrieved 2018-02-11.
  6. "theicarusproject.net". Archived from the original on February 24, 2007.
  7. 1 2 "A new movement views bipolar disorder as a dangerous gift — JSCMS". January 24, 2007. Archived from the original on 24 January 2007.
  8. 1 2 "Staff & Advisory Board". Icarus Project.
  9. "Navigating the Space Between Brilliance and Madness". Scattergood Foundation. Archived from the original on 2018-06-23. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
  10. "Resources". Transformative Mental Health Practices. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  11. "Resources". Transformative Mental Health Practices. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  12. Hall, Will. "Coming Off Pscyh Drugs" (PDF).
  13. "Mindful Occupation: The Booklet". mindfuloccupation.org.
  14. "Fireweed Collective". Fireweed Collective. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  15. Rosenthal, Ken Paul (August 29, 2011). "Crooked Beauty". Vimeo.
  16. "Whisper Rapture - Ken Paul Rosenthal". www.kenpaulrosenthal.com.