Yes, I like what I have heard from Dr. Jill Stein so far. I appreciate her support of Bernie. If Bernie doesn’t win the Democratic election, I would be very excited to see a Bernie-Stein ticket. Screw the Rep-Dem two-party system. Forget the policy of having a Pres and VP who are from the same party. I would love to see a ticket with a socialist and a green party nominee. Make the establishment really concerned. That would be amazing. I also would like to see Elizabeth Warren run for POTUS next time around and/or run as Bernie’s VP.
@The_cat I am all for gender equality and I would love to see a female president. But, I agree, people shouldn’t just support any female who comes along because she is female. One’s gender should not be taken into account when hiring or appointing individuals. I believe that females and males should be equally judged and chosen based on their experience, judgment, and record. Hopefully soon we will have a female president who we can be proud of. I don’t think 2016 will be that year. So, according to Madeleine Albright, there’s a special place in Hell for me where I will bern. But that’s fine with me.
I understand the anger against the mental health system. I have lived experience and have been hospitalized against my will and was not released until I played the psychiatrist’s game. Her plan for me was that I would live in a board and care and attend outpatient everyday all day. The psychiatrist didn’t think I’d be able to complete college. She didn’t deign to discuss with me what my plans were for my life. And so I nodded my head and said, “Yes Doctor, of course Doctor, I will do whatever you want, Doctor.” Once she was thoroughly satisfied that I was complacent and compliant she released me, upon which time I immediately disregarded all of her “plans” for me and stopped the medications that made me feel like a zombie.
I have heard from this community unfortunate stories about peers “propping up the system” as you say. To me, that is not what the peer movement is about. The peer movement was created in opposition to the medical model. It’s very frustrating to see peers being co-opted and used to perpetuate the medical model. I know. I’ve seen it. However, there are many peers and peer-run agencies that are doing good work and letting our fellow peers know that what they’ve been told by the medical professionals is not true, a diagnosis does not define you or mean that you can’t work, go to school, etc. Furthermore, diagnoses, psychology and psychiatry is not a real hard science as the medical professional would have us believe. No two psychiatrists I have seen can agree on my “diagnosis,” because it’s not a science.
I believe peers should not encourage medication or diagnosing, and at our peer-run agency, we don’t. In fact, I support noncompliance. Any success that I’ve had in my life is only because I did not believe the medical professionals who told me that my mind would gradually deteriorate until I became homeless. At our peer-run agency we do not diagnose one another, ask about one’s diagnosis, keep charts on one another or encourage medication. Nor do we work with therapists, doctors, psychologists or psychiatrists. We are completely removed from the medical model. And although I received my MSW, I practice from a peer standpoint of mutuality and the recovery model. When I was completing my MSW internship at a county clinic I realized that is not the type of place I want to work. I saw the way the clients and the peer workers were treated as second and third-class citizens, and I couldn’t work in such a system. I am so fortunate that we have two peer-run agencies in our area. It’s not as much pay as it would be if I worked as a therapist in a clinical setting, but it’s work that I believe in. Furthermore, I do not support peers attacking one another. We are stronger when we are united. If we want to create real systems change we can’t afford to be fighting among ourselves.
P.S. Thank you Wayne for standing up for me. You are a true friend.
This past year I attended my first “Alternatives” conference and was a presenter. While I did receive some valuable information from the conference, I felt disappointed overall. Looking at the pictures of the movement in the 70s and then looking at us, felt very underwhelming. The conference lacked teeth and I know now that is because it’s been co-opted by the government. It’s not a truly consumer-run conference, but actually a government-run conference under the guise of being “consumer-run.”
Inviting Patrick Kennedy to be the keynote and speak in favor of forced treatment is like a slap in the face to consumers such as myself. SAMHSA also censored my presentation as well as the presentations of two of my colleagues. I would bet they also rejected alternative presentations that didn’t serve their agenda. I strongly agree that we need to get out from under the government’s thumb so that we can truly bring alternative ideas to the table and have our voice heard uncensored.
Yes, I like what I have heard from Dr. Jill Stein so far. I appreciate her support of Bernie. If Bernie doesn’t win the Democratic election, I would be very excited to see a Bernie-Stein ticket. Screw the Rep-Dem two-party system. Forget the policy of having a Pres and VP who are from the same party. I would love to see a ticket with a socialist and a green party nominee. Make the establishment really concerned. That would be amazing. I also would like to see Elizabeth Warren run for POTUS next time around and/or run as Bernie’s VP.
@The_cat I am all for gender equality and I would love to see a female president. But, I agree, people shouldn’t just support any female who comes along because she is female. One’s gender should not be taken into account when hiring or appointing individuals. I believe that females and males should be equally judged and chosen based on their experience, judgment, and record. Hopefully soon we will have a female president who we can be proud of. I don’t think 2016 will be that year. So, according to Madeleine Albright, there’s a special place in Hell for me where I will bern. But that’s fine with me.
I understand the anger against the mental health system. I have lived experience and have been hospitalized against my will and was not released until I played the psychiatrist’s game. Her plan for me was that I would live in a board and care and attend outpatient everyday all day. The psychiatrist didn’t think I’d be able to complete college. She didn’t deign to discuss with me what my plans were for my life. And so I nodded my head and said, “Yes Doctor, of course Doctor, I will do whatever you want, Doctor.” Once she was thoroughly satisfied that I was complacent and compliant she released me, upon which time I immediately disregarded all of her “plans” for me and stopped the medications that made me feel like a zombie.
I have heard from this community unfortunate stories about peers “propping up the system” as you say. To me, that is not what the peer movement is about. The peer movement was created in opposition to the medical model. It’s very frustrating to see peers being co-opted and used to perpetuate the medical model. I know. I’ve seen it. However, there are many peers and peer-run agencies that are doing good work and letting our fellow peers know that what they’ve been told by the medical professionals is not true, a diagnosis does not define you or mean that you can’t work, go to school, etc. Furthermore, diagnoses, psychology and psychiatry is not a real hard science as the medical professional would have us believe. No two psychiatrists I have seen can agree on my “diagnosis,” because it’s not a science.
I believe peers should not encourage medication or diagnosing, and at our peer-run agency, we don’t. In fact, I support noncompliance. Any success that I’ve had in my life is only because I did not believe the medical professionals who told me that my mind would gradually deteriorate until I became homeless. At our peer-run agency we do not diagnose one another, ask about one’s diagnosis, keep charts on one another or encourage medication. Nor do we work with therapists, doctors, psychologists or psychiatrists. We are completely removed from the medical model. And although I received my MSW, I practice from a peer standpoint of mutuality and the recovery model. When I was completing my MSW internship at a county clinic I realized that is not the type of place I want to work. I saw the way the clients and the peer workers were treated as second and third-class citizens, and I couldn’t work in such a system. I am so fortunate that we have two peer-run agencies in our area. It’s not as much pay as it would be if I worked as a therapist in a clinical setting, but it’s work that I believe in. Furthermore, I do not support peers attacking one another. We are stronger when we are united. If we want to create real systems change we can’t afford to be fighting among ourselves.
P.S. Thank you Wayne for standing up for me. You are a true friend.
This past year I attended my first “Alternatives” conference and was a presenter. While I did receive some valuable information from the conference, I felt disappointed overall. Looking at the pictures of the movement in the 70s and then looking at us, felt very underwhelming. The conference lacked teeth and I know now that is because it’s been co-opted by the government. It’s not a truly consumer-run conference, but actually a government-run conference under the guise of being “consumer-run.”
Inviting Patrick Kennedy to be the keynote and speak in favor of forced treatment is like a slap in the face to consumers such as myself. SAMHSA also censored my presentation as well as the presentations of two of my colleagues. I would bet they also rejected alternative presentations that didn’t serve their agenda. I strongly agree that we need to get out from under the government’s thumb so that we can truly bring alternative ideas to the table and have our voice heard uncensored.