Dr. Peter Stastny is a New York based psychiatrist, documentary film-maker and a founder of the International Network toward Alternatives and Recovery (INTAR). He is a Lecturer at the Global Mental Health Program of Columbia University, and a participant in RedeAmericas, a federally funded program of hubs to advance community mental health programs, research and education in Latin America. Recently, he has become consultant to the New York City Department of Mental Hygiene in connection with the New York City Parachute Project, funded by the federal Center for Medicaid and Medicare Innovation to redesign crisis responses for individuals experiencing acute psychosis and their support networks.
Dr. Stastny has frequently collaborated with psychiatric survivors, for example by spearheading peer specialist services and peer-run businesses, as well as conducting research and writing projects. Examples are a book and major exhibit at the New York State Museum âThe Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Atticâ (together with Darby Penney); and the edited volume Alternatives Beyond Psychiatry (with Peter Lehmann).