"The value of this book lies in its conversational style, the diversity of the interviewees, and a lively question-response format that invites the reader into the conversation. ... I recommend The Revolt Against Psychiatry as a springboard for broader discussion on how we can counter the stranglehold of psychiatry." (Susan Rosenthal, Mad in America, November 06, 2019)
Chapter 1: Introduction to this book and to this project
Chapter 2: “It is All about Racism”: Dialogue with Indigenous Scholar and Activist Roland Chrisjohn
Chapter 3: “Our Freedom of Speech over our Medical License”: Dialogue with the Conscience of Psychiatry—Peter Breggin
Chapter 4: Dialogue with Journalist Extraordinaire: Robert Whitaker
Chapter 5: Dialogue with Survivor and Academic Lauren Tenney
Chapter 6: On Berlin Runaway House: Dialogue with Kim Wichera
Chapter 7: Toward a Democratic Psychiatry?: Dialogue with Ian Parker
Chapter 8: “Activism is My Real Job”: The Mad Movement in Chile: Dialogue with Tatiana Castillo
Chapter 9: “There is no place on this Planet for Psychiatry—Period!”: Dialogue with Don Weitz
Chapter 10: Autistic and Mad: Dialogue with Nick Walter
Chapter 11: Dialogue with Indigenous Leader and Psych Survivor Michael
Chapter 12: “This is Not a Time to Lie Low”: Dialogue with International Lawyer, Survivor, and Human Rights Advocate Tina Minkowitz
Chapter 13: “I So Loved My Son that I had to Promise him that I’d Do Everything that I Could”: Dialogue with Mother and Archivist Julie Wood
Chapter 14: Epistemicide: Dialogue with “Global Mental Health” Critic China Mills
Chapter 15: “The Movement is an Intrinsic Part of Who I Am”: Dialogue with Bonnie Burstow
Epilogue
Appendix A:List of Movements Frequently Referenced and the Distinctions Between Them
Appendix B: List of Commonly Used Abbreviations
Appendix C: Glossary of Frequently Used Words.
Bonnie Burstow, PhD, is Professor of Adult Education and Community Development at OISE/University of Toronto, one of the world’s leading antipsychiatry theorists and activists, and author of such seminal works as Psychiatry and the Business of Madness.
“A truly outstanding contribution to critical work in this area. By turns, questioning, thought-provoking, heart-breaking, challenging, yet always positive, and with a real humanistic quality at its heart. So inspiring!”
—Bruce Cohen, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of Auckland, New Zealand
“Defiant, relentless, and radical. A must-read for those thinking about the impact of institutional violence and what it means to be an expert through experience.”
—Jennifer Wemigwans, Assistant Professor, OISE/University of Toronto, Canada, and author of A Digital Bundle: Protecting Indigenous Knowledge Online
“Highly accessible and enormously informative, this book, I predict, will quickly become an indispensable go-to resource both for seasoned scholars and new students. Venceremos, Bonnie.”
—Stephen Ticktin, member of the Medical Psychotherapy Association of Canada
“In this amazing book, Bonnie Burstow gathers together a wide variety of expert global players in the critical/antipsychiatry movement. Passionate, gripping, heart-warming, and at times harrowing.”
—Cheryl Prax, survivor and member of the British activist group Speak Out Against Psychiatry, UK
“Fantastic Work! Burstow demonstrates that psychiatry isn’t a service. It’s a disservice.”
—Irit Shrimrat, co-founder of the Ontario Psychiatric Survivors’ Alliance, Canada
A real eye-opener, this riveting anti/critical psychiatry book is comprised of original cutting-edge dialogues between Burstow (an antipsychiatry theorist and activist) and other leaders in the “revolt against psychiatry,” including radical practitioners, lawyers, reporters, activists, psychiatric survivors, academics, family members, and artists. People in dialogue with the author include Indigenous leader Roland Chrisjohn, psychiatrist Peter Breggin, survivor Lauren Tenney, and scholar China Mills. The single biggest focus/tension in the book is a psychiatry abolition position versus a critical psychiatry (or reformist) position. In the scope of this project, Burstow considers the ways racism, genocide, Indigeneity, sexism, media bias, madness, neurodiversity, and strategic activism are intertwined with critical and antipsychiatry.