People came from London, Wales, Scotland and Ireland to discuss the culture of psychiatric diagnosis, evidence of a growing popular resistance to the “broken brain” narrative. This is so well phrased and I think this counts for many other examples of oppression in our society where a certain group of people is encouraged to and rewarded for disconnection and discrimination. Everyone who is interested in social justice should read this book, and in so doing, will take it to their hearts and utilise its insights for the common good. a question that encourages the framing of distress as an understandable reaction to trauma, adversity, or just the struggles we all face as human beings in a difficult world. As such it marks a refreshing and pivotal departure from the dominant ‘illness’ narrative we have come as a society to accept unquestioningly, and to impose on other cultures.

All are justifiably impassioned and subversive; yet reasoned, full of wisdom, common sense and rigorous analysis, informed by the latest evidence on trauma and attachment. I made my Recovery in (detail removed) in 1984 as a result of (carefully) coming off strong medication with the help of Psychotherapy. You’re right:- It’s possible to make Full Recovery from “Schizophrenia” and “BiPolar” and people need to know this.with the aim of providing a supportive forum for the discussion of all matters related to psychiatric diagnosis, ‘medication’, and medicalization of emotional distress.

I hope it’s not too hasty to say that this book might be one of the most influential on my journey as a counsellor and I’m incredibly grateful to have come across it while still studying. In other words, way too many therapists are way too quick to fall in line and defer to the authority of the medicator instead of challenging thought content and issues surrounding the diagnosis; this is a huge mistake and clear detriment to the persons in the system. Many, by the time they get to me, have internalized this as part of their identity along with the understanding that it’s a lifelong situation.I see an increasing number of clients—and particularly young people—who arrive at their first appointment convinced that they have bipolar, or even worse ARE “bipolar. Jacqui’s survival of childhood abuse and subsequent experiences of using psychiatric services inform her work, and she is an outspoken advocate and campaigner for trauma informed approaches to madness and distress.

The first stanza of Thomas’ poem is anything but on topic with psychiatric drugs, but it’s how I can relate my mind to feeling on many crazy doctor drugs in that there’s a fight for consciousness, a weary battle like Thomas captures at the end of his father’s life to keep the spark of life alive (it’s a battle for one’s soul after all! But it was the power of this interaction and the difficult feelings I experienced that encouraged me to start asking myself for the first time… “Exactly how am I helping these people I’m supposed to be caring for? A label such as ‘clinical depression’ or ‘schizophrenia’ written on a health record can often be an essential requirement for accessing state benefits and a necessary passport into specialist mental health services” (chapter 10, p127).We are very lucky to have this online support network in place because it’s very hard if not impossible to find in many areas of the globe. Because for me it feels like if we are not careful we might end up moving further away from encompassing a more holistic idea such as recognition of the variety of psychological diversity within all of us. One of the shared ambitions of the administrator group is that we can ultimately develop this resource into a much-needed “Mad in the UK” site. She represents the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) on the steering committee for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Prescribed Drug Dependence, is part of the `Mad in the UK' team and is a founding member of `United for Integrity in Mental Health' (UIMH). In the meantime, I urge you to take a look—we welcome members from across the globe, and are indebted to Mad in America for links to some of the most popular articles and blogs.

This is such a simple and obvious concept and so needed, it just shows how we (society) has been conditioned to think in limiting ways about mental wellbeing. finally common sense is on the horizon and a campaign to break down the psychiatric infastructure of 'treating' distress has begun. Jo campaigns for a paradigm shift away from the bio medical model narrative of mental distress toward a more appropriate trauma informed response.And this is how the book describes those at the mercy of the system, diagnosed, labelled, and condemned to a process that disadvantages their recovery, and ultimately their right to be a person.