Organizing Guide for Psychiatric Survivors

Organizing Guide for Psychiatric Survivors — Wow! A 272 page book with just about everything you need to know, including the history and politics of the psych survivor movement. What a gold mine. The PDF is available for free download on Mind Freedom’s site.

With help from the Foundation for Excellence in Mental Health Care, MindFreedom published a comprehensive handbook for psychiatric survivors. This guide is intended to help survivors protect themselves and others from psychiatric harm as well as organize for human rights throughout the world.

Organizing Guide for Psychiatric Survivors PDF

A little about Mindfreedom for those who may not be familiar:

From their website: MindFreedom International is a nonprofit organization under IRS 501(c)(3). For over two decades and counting, we have been engaging in successful advocacy, peaceful protests, public education, mutual support, lobbying, and organizing without ever giving up our dream of facilitating mental and emotional wellness for all people.

We are neither controlled nor funded by any pharmaceutical companies, governments, political parties, or religious organizations. Instead we are powered solely by contributions from individuals like you and occasional grants from independent foundations.

We are also the only organization in the field of mental health that is accredited by the United Nations as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) with Consultative Roster Status.

Most of our members are psychiatric survivors, that is, those who have personally experienced human rights violations through psychiatry. Others are voluntary consumers of mental health services, family members and friends of survivors or consumers, attorneys, advocates, and professional providers of mental health care including “dissident” psychiatrists. Many also constitute marginalized demographics such as people of color, LGBT+ people, neurodivergent people, disabled people, etc. Some of us have been activists for over 30 years, and others for only 30 days.

All are welcome! We invite anyone and everyone who supports human rights to join us and strengthen our movement with their unique perspectives.

Our mission statement

In a spirit of mutual cooperation, MindFreedom International aims to lead a non-violent revolution of freedom, equality, truth, and human rights in mental health care by uniting psychiatric survivors, consumers, and allies through movements for justice everywhere.

Our goals

• Challenge human rights abuses in mental health care (e.g. coerced and/or fraudulent drugging, electroshock therapy, and institutionalization).
• Support the self-determination of psychiatric survivors and consumers.
• Promote humane and effective mental health care.

You can donate or become a member here

For related posts on Beyond Meds see: Psych survivors