AP SOWK 2035 Section AGroup #6

MAD PRIDE TORONTO

http://www.madprideto.com/

The website for a promoting Mad Pride organization for Toronto 2014

https://recoverynetworktoronto.wordpress.com/2015/06/30/mad-pride-toronto-2015/

How the Website Contributes to the Mad Movement

-it is a website for a festival called Mad Pride which is a movement to:

•remember and participate in mad history

•challenge discrimination

•advocate for rights

•affirm mad identities

•develop and empower mad communities

-the website emphasizes how mad lives matter, that their contributions are valuable like anyone else and that it needs to be celebrated

-it also helps with the Mad Movement because it stresses the importance of why have Mad Pride

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/07/01/mad_pride_toronto_seeks_to_bring_mentally_ill_into_the_mainstream.html

-these include:

•celebrates mad identities, communities, and cultures including our individual and collective strengths

•confronts the shame we are made to feel about our psychiatric histories and experiences of madness

•resists the oppression we encounter within aspects of psychiatric/mental health systems and society

•reminds us and others that as mad people we have rights to be ourselves - just like everyone else

-the website also implements social media via Facebook and Twitter to get people talking and spread the word on the event but also the Mad Movement

-there are suggestions on how people can help with Mad Pride and encourages volunteers as well as donations to help their cause and make the event even more successful

http://rabble.ca/toolkit/guide/surviving-psychiatric-complex

•Layout (Main Page)

-the colour scheme is yellow, black and red it seems to resemble power or strength as these colours are associated with fire

-the logo is on the top left corner, it stands out because it is black on a yellow background

-the title like the logo is on a black background, the text is dark red and an appropriate font size

-the contrast created with the logo and title allow for the most important aspects to stand out

-the center of the page is a white background that has a picture of a poster promoting mad pride week

-above the poster is a like and share button for Mad Pride 2014

-below that is a Twitter feature which displays tweets from Mad Pride Hamilton and Mad Pride Toronto to give an interactive feel-on the left side of the page, there are 8 rectangles in a vertical line, which are the different tabs/pages of the website

-it allows someone to assess various information such as about mad pride, their history, important dates, event, gallery, resources, support us, and contact

Strengths

-the website does a great job of being straight to the point-there is not too much but just enough information -there are external links if someone wants to find out more information-a great summary of what Mad Pride is about, when the important dates are, and an overall summary about other Mad movements in Canada and around the world-social media is implemented within the site with live Twitter feeds and an area for Facebook

Weaknesses

-mainly lies in the design of the website-better colors and layout can significantly change it for the better, the yellow is an eye sore-the main page in particular needs to do a better job of having information about the Mad Pride week-the date is clearly mentioned but it is hard to tell where and what times-should have more pictures under the gallery section, it will help promote the event

http://www.madprideto.com/gallery.php

PSYCHIATRIC SURVIVOR ARCHIVE OF TORONTO

http://www.psychiatricsurvivorarchives.com/

“…Archives seeks to reflect the broad diversity of views… [of] people who have experienced the psychiatric system…” (PSAT,2015)

Psychiatric Survivor Archives of Toronto is a website run by former psychiatric survivors who volunteered their time to preserve the history of every person that have had any type of experience with the psychiatric system.

How the website contributes to Mad movement?

- The website seeks to keep alive the memory and history of those who have survived the psychiatric system.

-The content can be used as a reference for those trying to learn more about the experience of those who had been at a psychiatric institution in Toronto.

- Furthermore it can encourage those who currently being socially judged as outcast to keep on fighting for what is right.

- the website’s main purpose is to promote the abolition of psychiatric institutionalization and the archive is mainly composed by comments and histories of those who have a negative view of the psychiatric system.

- Provides with them a quote on quote “history lesson” and hopefully can shine light in the eyes of the psychiatric institutions today to learn from the mistakes of the past and hopefully start a change.

http://www.psychiatricsurvivorarchives.com/photos.html

STRENGTH

- The website home page gives good information of the content of the website, providing a good contribution to the mad movement by keeping the history of psychiatric survivors alive.

- The Collection page has some information about the material available on site. The website offers extra links that offers information on asylums and brief information on the asylum wall.

WEAKNESS

- The website lacks updates and will highly benefit from more actualized links, an online source to access their archive files, the option to add comments, a forum to exchange information will be an asset to make visitors interact

- the information is not available to be accessed online. Can only access in public through appointments.

- Although the founders of this website only meet one time a year, the content of the website should be actualized more often.

- Some of the links listed in this part of the website are invalid or outdated, as well as the educational part of the website that was last updated in 2005.

http://www.psychiatricsurvivorarchives.com/posters.htmlFor both images!!

The Antipsychiatry Coalition

http://www.antipsychiatry.org/

Who Are They?

• The antipsychiatry coalition is a group of non-profit volunteers who believe that we have been harmed by psychiatry

Website’s Goal :

• “To warn individuals about the harm routinely inflicted on those who receive psychiatric treatment”

•“To promote the democratic ideal of liberty for all law-abiding people that have been abandoned in the USA, Canada, and other democratic nations”

- Antipsychiatry Coalition (2015)

Image taken from -http://www.antipsychiatry.org/

“Why is this young woman using a wheelchair?: She has tardive dyskinesia - caused by psychiatric drugs.”

- Antipsychiatry Coalition (2015)

-Image taken from http://www.antipsychiatry.org/

Structure of Website:

• Comprised of various links to pages which contain articles, poems, and videos most of which are discussing why and how the antipsychiatry movement is valid.

• Links to articles written about psychiatry and therapy by Medical Doctors as well as individuals who have had experiences with psychiatry

• There are also pictures from different demonstrations protesting psychiatry's harmful "therapies" and violations of human rights

• Also advertises news about upcoming protests that one can take part in

http://www.antipsychiatry.org/

Content:

• The articles are written by Wayne Ramsay J.D. and Lawrence Stevens J.D.

• They seem to have a recurring theme of discussing the theory that schizophrenia and mental disorders in general are “non existent diseases”.

• Another article discusses psychiatric drugs and says that they have no positive effects on patients and only a placebo effect as well as that these drugs can also cause disorders

• There is an article about Electroshock Therapy and psychosurgery explaining that they are crimes against humanity, not mentioning the possible benefits of the treatments

• The poem, “To Be a Mental Patient” is written by Rae Unzicker who was one of the world's leading advocates for the civil rights of people with psychiatric disabilities.

• Unzicker discusses what it is like to be a “mental patient” with the many negative connotations that come with being a patient. She uses words like stigmatized, ostracized, patronized.

• Other articles and links to videos seem to be continuing the same argument against psychiatry and echo the themes mentioned above

• Lawrence Stevens J.D. writes an article outlining the implications that psychiatry has on getting jobs, going to school, getting a driver’s license. Argues that having any part of psychiatry leads to a “loss of opportunities” as it is associated with untrustworthiness and emotional instability.

Strength:

What has the website done well ?

• Points are backed up by articles and videos, providing in depth examples about people who have been negatively affected by psychiatry

• Very persuasive argument providing a warning to individuals about the various implications that psychiatric treatment can have on them

• The authors are extraordinarily passionate about the subject

• They also list other antipsychiatry websites and some professional people (M.D.)

-The site is readily available in twelve languages with information for common wealth nations and the U.S.

Weakness:

What Can They Improve On?

• The articles are written by two Juris Doctors, who are not a typical medical source to be discussing psychiatry, not enough input from medical doctors

• Points of view are very biased – they only discuss how terrible the psychiatry industry is

• Ignore the fact that many individuals have also been helped by psychiatric treatments – lacks a counter argument to make their points even stronger

• They even argue that mental disorders do not exist at all and they are simply created ideas by the psychiatry industry to gain business

How it Contributes to the Mad Movement:

• The Mad Movement addresses the concern of people who end up with any type of disability label

• This website does not really contribute to the Mad Movement in a positive way as it discusses the experiences of some individuals and makes the argument that mental disorders do not exist at all

• The labels put on “mad” individuals are used on this website, for example Lawrence Stevens J.D. saying that if anyone uses psychiatric services they will be held back in life because they will be seen as untrustworthy and emotionally unstable

- The Antipsychiatry Coalition prominently features information for marches against electro shock treatments from May of 2015.

Questions:

• If the entire psychiatric industry is abolished, how will mad individuals be assisted? Will there still be counselling? What are some options for these individuals? (There is no mention of what the alternatives to psychiatry are)

Image take n from –http://www.antipsychiatry.org/e-mail.htm

Sources

Research:

- Ramsay, W., & Stevens, L. (2015, March 14). The Antipsychiatry Coalition. Retrieved November 1, 2015, from http://www.antipsychiatry.org/

- Mad Pride Toronto. (2014, July 7). Retrieved November 3, 2015, from http://www.madprideto.com/

- N.p. "Mission Statement." Psychiatricsurvivorarchives.com. Psychiatric Survivor Archives of Toronto. n.d. Web. 30 October 2015. N.p. “About Mad Pride.” Madprideto.com. Mad Pride Toronto. n.d. Web. 30 October 30, 2015.N.p. “Mad Pride Toronto.” Alexa.com/siteinfo/madprideto.com. Alexa.com n.d. Web. 30 October

30, 2015N.p. “Psychiatric Survivor Archives.” Alexa.com/siteinfo/psychiatricsurvivorarchives.com.

Alexa.com n.d. Web. 30 October 30, 2015N.p. “Antipsychiatry Colition.” Alexa.com/siteinfo/antipsychiatry.org. Alexa.com n.d. Web. 30

October 30, 2015

- Join PSAT in 2014-2015!!! (2007). Retrieved November 3, 2015.

CREDITS - Group Member’s Contribution

- Research on Mad Pride Toronto 2014 Website – Malisha Narsai , Roderick Philpot

- Research on Psychiatric Survivor Archives of Toronto Website - Marineide De Oliveira, Roderick Philpot

- Research on The Antipsychiatry Coalition Website - Natalia Freedman, Roderick Philpot

- Putting everything together on PowerPoint and Developing the Presentation – Mehmet Titiz

Images taken from - https://laisogata.wordpress.com/