Mad studies

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Mad studies is a field of scholarship, theory, and activism about the lived experiences, history, cultures, and politics about people who may identify as mad, mentally ill, psychiatric survivors, consumers, service users, patients, neurodivergent, and disabled. Mad Studies originated from consumer/survivor movements organized in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and in other parts of the world. The methods for inquiry draw from a number of academic disciplines such as women's studies, critical race studies, indigenous epistemologies, queer studies, psychological anthropology, and ethnography. [1] This field shares theoretical similarities to critical disability studies, psychopolitics, [2] and critical social theory. The academic movement formed, in part, as a response to recovery movements, which many mad studies scholars see as being "co-opted" by mental health systems. [1] In 2021 the first academic journal of Mad Studies, The International Journal of Mad Studies, was launched.

Contents

Origins and scope

Richard A. Ingram, a senior research fellow in the School of Disability Studies at Ryerson University (2007), has been credited with coining the phrase "Mad Studies" at the First Regional Graduate/Undergraduate Student Disability Studies Conference at Syracuse University on May 3, 2008. [1] [3] [4] In an academic article entitled "Doing Mad Studies: Making (Non)sense Together," Ingram points to a number of theorists who created the intellectual groundwork for the field, including Nietzsche, Bataille, Blanchot, Deleuze, and Guattari. [3]

In a 2014 Guardian article, Peter Beresford names Canadian scholars at the forefront of this academic field: "Mad studies has been pioneered by Ryerson and York Universities in Toronto, with key figures such as mental health survivors, activists and educators David Reville and Geoffrey Reaume and academics Kathryn Church and Brenda LeFrancois." [5] Journalist Alex Gillis summarizes the spread of mad studies programs in a November 2015 article: "Soon after Ryerson and York launched mad studies courses in the early 2000s, similar courses began in Simon Fraser University’s department of sociology and anthropology, and more recently at Memorial University’s school of social work, Queen’s University’s school of kinesiology and health studies, and the history departments at Trent University and the University of Winnipeg. A few universities in England, Scotland and the Netherlands launched courses in the past two years, using Canadian courses as models." [6]

Some dimensions of this emerging field may include research on the "social construction of 'mental illness, normalizing imperatives of the state and medicine, rapidly expanding nosologies (categories of pathology) for mental illness, collusion(s) of pharmaceutical corporations and professional associations within psychiatry, connections between ecocide and mental stress, psychiatrization of nonhuman animals, representation(s) of madness in media, history of consumer/survivor movement(s), and the rise and fall of mental treatments within scientific, medical, and lay communities." [7]

Mad people have traditionally been excluded from shaping what constitutes expert knowledge about themselves. Mad-positive pedagogies often center on ways Mad persons' experiences represent sites of/for learning holding deep knowledge and value. ″Mad studies represents an evolving interdisciplinary field in which Mad studies scholars often seek to disrupt, counter, and nuance dominant discourses on mental health.″ As such, Mad Studies informed pedagogical approaches emphasize Mad persons' perspectives as a way to counter sanist oppression and reshape curriculum to better appreciate and understand Mad subjects.< Thereby refuting a pedagogy of saneness [8] and opening new possibilities. Teaching from a Mad Studies informed lens requires unlearning normativity, rethinking sanist paradigms, and represents a disruptive critical praxis. [9]

Connection with disability studies

Mad Studies is greatly connected with Disability Studies, though it veers from certain discourses.


Like disability studies, Mad Studies developed from existing activist movements and relies on social models of disability, which argue that "disablement is the outcome of a range of structural, social, cultural and political forces which are disabling, rather than the inevitable consequence of individual impairment." [10] : 109  Further, both frameworks hold central the concerns of those impacted by the discourses (i.e., Mad people and people with disabilities), as see those impacted as producing vital knowledge. [10]

However, while the disability movement included Mad individuals, physical disabilities were centered, particularly in developing Disability Studies. [10] This becomes more apparent in the centering of impairment versus disability. According to Disabled Peoples' International, impairment refers to "the functional limitation within the individual caused by physical, mental or sensory impairment," where disability refers to "the loss or limitation of opportunities to take part in the normal life of the community on an equal level with others due to physical and social barriers." [11] : 5  People with mental health conditions may feel the language of impairment does not apply to their experience.

Further, though lay individuals with mental health conditions may dislike the language of madness, they also do not feel the social model of disability adequately represents their needs and struggles. [12]

Conferences and symposiums

Key texts

Related Research Articles

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

A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, or a behavioral health hospital, is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe mental disorders. These institutions cater to patients with conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and eating disorders, among others.

Anti-psychiatry, sometimes spelled antipsychiatry, is a movement based on the view that psychiatric treatment can be often more damaging than helpful to patients. The term anti-psychiatry was coined in 1912, and the movement emerged in the 1960s, highlighting controversies about psychiatry. Objections include the reliability of psychiatric diagnosis, the questionable effectiveness and harm associated with psychiatric medications, the failure of psychiatry to demonstrate any disease treatment mechanism for psychiatric medication effects, and legal concerns about equal human rights and civil freedom being nullified by the presence of diagnosis. Historical critiques of psychiatry came to light after focus on the extreme harms associated with electroconvulsive therapy and insulin shock therapy. The term "anti-psychiatry" is in dispute and often used to dismiss all critics of psychiatry, many of whom agree that a specialized role of helper for people in emotional distress may at times be appropriate, and allow for individual choice around treatment decisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social model of disability</span> Societal failure to adapt to disabilities

The social model of disability identifies systemic barriers, derogatory attitudes, and social exclusion, which make it difficult or impossible for disabled people to attain their valued functionings. The social model of disability diverges from the dominant medical model of disability, which is a functional analysis of the body as a machine to be fixed in order to conform with normative values. As the medical model of disability carries with it a negative connotation, with negative labels associated with disabled people. The social model of disability seeks to challenge power imbalances within society between differently-abled people and seeks to redefine what disability means as a diverse expression of human life. While physical, sensory, intellectual, or psychological variations may result in individual functional differences, these do not necessarily have to lead to disability unless society fails to take account of and include people intentionally with respect to their individual needs. The origin of the approach can be traced to the 1960s, and the specific term emerged from the United Kingdom in the 1980s.

Disability studies is an academic discipline that examines the meaning, nature, and consequences of disability. Initially, the field focused on the division between "impairment" and "disability", where impairment was an impairment of an individual's mind or body, while disability was considered a social construct. This premise gave rise to two distinct models of disability: the social and medical models of disability. In 1999 the social model was universally accepted as the model preferred by the field. However, in recent years, the division between the social and medical models has been challenged. Additionally, there has been an increased focus on interdisciplinary research. For example, recent investigations suggest using "cross-sectional markers of stratification" may help provide new insights on the non-random distribution of risk factors capable of exacerbating disablement processes. Such risk factors can be acute or chronic stressors, which can increase cumulative risk factors The decline of immune function with age and decrease of inter-personal relationships which can impact cognitive function with age.

MindFreedom International is an international coalition of over one hundred grassroots groups and thousands of individual members from fourteen nations. Based in the United States, it was founded in 1990 to advocate against forced medication, medical restraints, and involuntary electroconvulsive therapy. Its stated mission is to protect the rights of people who have been labeled with psychiatric disorders. Membership is open to anyone who supports human rights, including mental health professionals, advocates, activists, and family members. MindFreedom has been recognized by the United Nations Economic and Social Council as a human rights NGO with Consultative Roster Status.

David R. Reville is a former politician in Ontario, Canada, and an activist and educator active in Mad Pride, mad studies, and disability studies. Reville was a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 1990 who represented the downtown Toronto riding of Riverdale. Between 1990 and 1995 he was an advisor to the government of Bob Rae.

The psychiatric survivors movement is a diverse association of individuals who either currently access mental health services, or who have experienced interventions by psychiatry that were unhelpful, harmful, abusive, or illegal.

Psychiatric rehabilitation, also known as psychosocial rehabilitation, and sometimes simplified to psych rehab by providers, is the process of restoration of community functioning and well-being of an individual diagnosed in mental health or emotional disorder and who may be considered to have a psychiatric disability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mad pride</span> Movement encouraging pride in people with mental illnesses

Mad Pride is a mass movement of current and former users of mental health services, as well as those who have never used mental health services but are aligned with the Mad Pride framework. The movement advocates that individuals with mental illness should be proud of their 'mad' identity. In recent years, Mad Pride has increasingly aligned with the neurodiversity movement, recognizing the interconnected nature of mental health advocacy and neurodivergent experiences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judi Chamberlin</span> American psychiatric survivors movement activist

Judi Chamberlin was an American activist, leader, organizer, public speaker and educator in the psychiatric survivors movement. Her political activism followed her involuntary confinement in a psychiatric facility in the 1960s. She was the author of On Our Own: Patient-Controlled Alternatives to the Mental Health System, which is a foundational text in the Mad Pride movement.

Sanism, saneism, mentalism, or psychophobia refers to the systemic discrimination against or oppression of individuals perceived to have a mental disorder or cognitive impairment. This discrimination and oppression are based on numerous factors such as stereotypes about neurodiversity. Mentalism impacts individuals with autism, learning disorders, ADHD, FASD, bipolar, schizophrenia, personality disorders, stuttering, tics, intellectual disabilities, and other cognitive impairments.

<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:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Lehmann (author)</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Oaks</span> American activist

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Peter Beresford OBE, FAcSS, FRSA is a British academic, writer, researcher and activist best known for his work in the field of citizen participation and user involvement, areas of study he helped to create and develop. He is currently visiting professor and senior research fellow in the School of Health & Social Sciences at the University of East Anglia, emeritus professor of citizen participation at the University of Essex and emeritus professor of social policy at Brunel University London. Much of his work has centred on including the viewpoints, lived experience and knowledge of disabled people, mental health and other long term service users in public policy, practice and learning, and working for a more participatory politics.

Rachel Cooper is a British philosopher specialising in the philosophy of medicine and philosophy of science, especially the philosophy of psychiatry. She is currently a professor in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion at Lancaster University. She is the author of Classifying Madness, Psychiatry and the Philosophy of Science and Diagnosing the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Bonnie Burstow was a Canadian psychotherapist, author, and anti-psychiatry scholar. She was a professor in the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 LeFrançois, Brenda A.; Menzies, Robert; Reaume, Geoffrey, eds. (2013). Mad matters: a critical reader in Canadian mad studies. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press Inc. ISBN   978-1-55130-534-9.
  2. ↑ Cresswell & Spandler (2013). "The Engaged Academic: Academic Intellectuals and the Psychiatric Survivor Movement" (PDF). Social Movement Studies . 12 (2): 138–154. doi:10.1080/14742837.2012.696821. S2CID   55495048. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-07-20. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
  3. 1 2 Ingram, Richard A. (2016-12-29). "Doing Mad Studies: Making (Non)sense Together". Intersectionalities. 5 (3 (Special Issue) Mad Studies: Intersections with Disability Studies, Social Work, and ‘Mental Health’): 11–17. Archived from the original on 2018-02-26. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  4. ↑ McGowan, Victoria (November 13, 2015). "Mentally Sound Radio Show #9". Mentally Sound Radio Show. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  5. ↑ Beresford, Peter (October 7, 2014). "Mad studies brings a voice of sanity to psychiatry". The Guardian . Archived from the original on April 4, 2018. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  6. ↑ Gillis, Alex (November 3, 2015). "The Rise of Mad Studies". University Affairs. Archived from the original on March 13, 2018. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Mad Studies". Asheville Radical Mental Health Collective. 2014-07-19. Archived from the original on 2018-03-13. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  8. ↑ Procknow, Greg (2019-05-28). "The pedagogy of saneness: a schizoaffective storying of resisting sane pedagogy". International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. 32 (5): 510–528. doi:10.1080/09518398.2019.1597208. ISSN   0951-8398. S2CID   150685760.
  9. ↑ Snyder, Sarah N.; Pitt, Kendra-Ann; Shanouda, Fady; Voronka, Jijian; Reid, Jenna; Landry, Danielle (2019-08-08). "Unlearning through Mad Studies: Disruptive pedagogical praxis". Curriculum Inquiry. 49 (4): 485–502. doi:10.1080/03626784.2019.1664254. ISSN   0362-6784. S2CID   210372162. Archived from the original on 2021-04-14. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  10. 1 2 3 Morgan, Hannah (2021). "Mad Studies and disability studies" (PDF). In Beresford, Peter; Russo, Jasna (eds.). The Routledge International Handbook of Mad Studies. Routledge. pp. 108–118. doi:10.4324/9780429465444-16. ISBN   978-0-429-46544-4. S2CID   243074532.
  11. ↑ Oliver, Mike (2005). "Defining Impairment and Disability: issues at stake". In Emens, Elizabeth F. (ed.). Disability and Equality Law. Routledge. pp. 3–18. doi:10.4324/9781315094861. ISBN   9781315094861.
  12. ↑ Beresford, Peter; Russo, Jasna (2016-02-17). "Supporting the sustainability of Mad Studies and preventing its co-option". Disability & Society : 1–5. doi: 10.1080/09687599.2016.1145380 . ISSN   0968-7599.
  13. ↑ "Madness, Citizenship and Social Justice Conference". Simon Fraser University. 2008. Archived from the original on 2019-01-08. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
  14. ↑ Coyle, Jim (May 19, 2012). "The Star". Archived from the original on October 1, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Past Conferences". Mad Studies 2014. 2014-08-15. Archived from the original on 2018-03-13. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  16. ↑ "Disability Conference 2018". Lancaster University. Archived from the original on 2018-03-24. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  17. ↑ Sweeney, Beresford, Faulkner, Nettle, Rose (2009). This is Survivor Research. UK: PCCS Books. ISBN   978-1906254148.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ↑ Price, Margaret (2011). Mad at School: Rhetorics of Mental Disability and Academic Life. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. ISBN   978-0472051380.
  19. ↑ Diamond, Shaindl; Burstow, Bonnie; Lefrançois, Brenda A., eds. (2015-06-09). "Psychiatry disrupted: theorizing resistance and crafting the (r)evolution". Disability & Society. 30 (7): 1133–1136. doi: 10.1080/09687599.2015.1037561 . ISSN   0968-7599.
  20. ↑ Mills, China (2014). Decolonizing Global Mental Health: The Psychiatrization of the Majority World. East Essex: Routledge. ISBN   9781848721609.
  21. ↑ Ben-Moshe, Liat; Chapman, Chris; Carey, Allison C. (2014). Disability incarcerated: imprisonment and disability in the United States and Canada. New York (N.Y.): Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN   978-1-137-39323-4.
  22. ↑ Spandler, Helen; Anderson, Jill; Sapey, Bob, eds. (2015). Madness, distress and the politics of disablement. Bristol Chicago: Policy Press. ISBN   978-1-4473-1458-5.
  23. ↑ Burstow, Bonnie (2015). Psychiatry and the Business of Maddness. New York: Palgrave MacMillan. ISBN   978-1137503848.
  24. ↑ Russo, Jasna; Sweeney, Angela, eds. (2016). Searching for a rose garden: challenging psychiatry, fostering mad studies. Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire: PCCS Books. ISBN   978-1-910919-23-1.
  25. ↑ Joseph, Ameil (2015). Deportation and the Confluence of Violence within Forensic Mental Health and Immigration Systems. London: Palgrave MacMillan. ISBN   978-1-349-55826-1.
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