I have been harmed by psychiatric human rights violations. What can I do?

You are definitely not alone! The majority of MindFreedom's members, staff and board identify themselves as having experienced human rights violations in the mental health system. There's no easy way to recovery from this trauma. Many of us have found that peer mutual support and working together to help others still caught in the mental health system is very powerful route to recovery. MindFreedom is committed to being a voice for change and alternatives within the mental health system.

Psychiatric human rights violations thrive in an atmosphere of silence and isolation. If you are currently at risk of forced or coerced psychiatric human rights violations, you are encouraged to break the silence and let allies who may help know, and if at all possible find legal advocacy as soon as possible.

We have a "Top Ten" list about how you may write your own human rights alert on this web site, click here.

How can I locate legal services and legal advocacy?

MindFreedom is a grassroots activist group, a kind of "Greenpeace of Mental Health" as one media source called us. We have very limited resources focused on activism, and unfortunately this means we are not able to directly offer attorneys, advocacy services, etc.

Here are some suggestions:

• As an MFI member you can often network with other members, such as via the MFI e-mail lists. No guarantee, but it's amazing what kind of assistance has emerged. You may want to consider issuing a public e-mail about the resources you are searching for.
  
• If you are in the USA, have a psychiatric label, and are requesting legal advocacy services, there is a federally-funded "protection and advocacy" service. This is not necessarily an endorsement of those P & A services, because they are often over-extended and the quality varies a great deal from state to state. However, it is at least one place to try with local requests for legal information and referrals. You can find your state P & A on their national association web site, look for the link "Get help in your state:" on the home page of this web site, and use the pull-down menu: http://www.napas.org
  
• If you are trying to find an attorney to hire, such as for a lawsuit, one place to include in your search may be the National Lawyers Guild, which networks lawyers who fight for the underdog. You may be able to find a local NLG contact at web site: http://www.nlg.org/
• A sponsor group of MFI that is very supportive of legal activism is PsychRights which has a link here: http://www.psychrights.org
• Another sponsor group dedicated to legal advocacy is the National Association for Rights Protection and Advocacy (NARPA). Their annual meeting is  highly recommended as a place to network about taking legal action. See http://www.narpa.org
  
• If you are searching for an "ombudsman" or advocate, these vary widely from region to region, county to county, state to state, nation to nation. We do not have a directory of these services. Of course, this is not necessarily a recommendation for what such an ombudsman or advocate can do, but you may wan to inquire locally so that you have made an official complaint to any local ombudsman or advocate.
  
• For MindFreedom members, on a limited basis, MindFreedom can from time to time network your e-mailed plea for advocacy and referrals, to the extent resources are available, such as with MFI's volunteer list. A volunteer doesn't necessarily officially speak for MFI, but we have some very experienced and dedicated and compassionate volunteers. Especially if a current member is presently experiencing involuntary psychiatric procedures, MindFreedom will often help in notifying other members and authorities, at the direction of the member. We also encourage members to contact a Sponsor and Affiliate Group nearest you for more support.

How can I find alternatives for myself or a relative who is experiencing mental and emotional problems, and/or who wants to quit psychiatric drugs?

One of the most common questions we get is from families seeking humane and effective alternatives to the current psychiatric system for their family members. Choice in mental health care is a human right! Unfortunately, such options are not readily available. Some MFI sponsor groups include offer programs.

However, MFI does not currently have a directory of alternative programs and practitioners throughout the USA and internationally. The MFI Choice in Mental Health Campaign does have a goal of creating an online directory of alternatives, but this is not yet created or avaialble.

In the meantime, as an MFI member you may want to try networking with other members, such as by issuing a public networking plea by e-mail on one of the MFI lists, and to the MFI office, to encourage people aware of resources to let you know.

You may want to brainstorm with others for creative solutions.

One example: Some individuals seeking to lower the level of or quit their psychiatric drugs search for "a psychiatrist" in their area who will help them. That can be very difficult. However, any physician has prescribing privileges. It is still difficult but far easier to find such a sympathetic non-psychiatrist physician who can monitor and if need be taper off your prescription; and along with him or her create a team along with a supportive counselor, social worker, and/or psychologist. This is not a recipe, or medical advice, but an indication that "thinking outside the box" can be very important.

I am a relative/friend/ally of a psychiatric survivor. How can I network with others on issues around this topic?

One of MIndFreedom’s sponsor groups is Relatives & Allies of Psychiatric Survivors (RAPS). They are a small informal network who can show you that you are not alone and help facilitate crucial support. To ask to network with other friends, family members and allies of psychiatric survivors via RAPS contact Linda Valentine at lindaraps97 (at) yahoo.com

RAPS has a special web area in the affiliate section of MindFreedom, to visit it go here:

http://www.mindfreedom.org/as/act/us/raps/

How can I learn more about the psychiatric system, detoxing from psychiatric drugs, alternative treatments, etc.?

The mental health system is largely dominated by a "one size fits all" approach. Many of our members have found full recovery through a wide variety of approaches, with the common denominators of choice, empowerment and self-determination. You may read several dozen personal stories of psychiatric survivors who reached recovery on this web site under "personal stories."

To repeat, MFI is pro-choice and many members choose to take psychiatric drugs. However, there are few resources available for those who wish to quit psychiatric drugs and try alternatives. 

You can also find out more about the mental health system, psychiatric drugs, how to quit psychiatric drugs, and more via the MAD MARKET on this web site where we offer over dozens of books, many of them hard-to-find titles. A featured book is Coming Off Psychiatric Drugs edited by Peter Lehmann that was created by dozens of individuals personally familiar with the challenge of quitting psychiatric drugs. Peter has also co-edited a book entitled Alternatives Beyond Psychiatry, which is also available in the Mad Market.

On this MindFreedom web site, the knowledge base also has examples of wholistic alternatives to the mainstream conventional mental health system, here:

http://www.mindfreedom.org/kb/mental-health-alternatives/

I need medical advice, can you help?

Sorry, we do not have specific medical advice. We need to make a disclaimer similar to that found in other places on the web, such as Wikipedia: MindFreedom International web site and materials contain articles and other information on many medical topics. However, no warranty whatsoever is made that any of the articles are accurate. Nothing on MindFreedom.org or in our material should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a medical opinion or otherwise engage in the practice of medicine.

May I mail you my... manuscript... medical records... legal records... etc.?

Generally, no. We cannot always acknowledge receipt of any materials. We unfortunately do not have staff or resources to process large quantities of raw materials. It is far better, and often necessary, for you to digest your material yourself, and submit a brief article or story to us for possible publication on our web site, or journal. Please do not send us unsolicited raw materials such as medical records, legal records, etc. Please ask first about exceptions.

One exception: If you have published a book, CD or similar item directly relevant to MindFreedom's work, then once it is published and available to the public, you may mail us an unsolicited review copy with information about how people can obtain your book. See our "contact us" information to mail anything bigger than an envelope.

We cannot guarantee a review, acknowledgment, or use in the Mad Market, etc.,  of your book. However at the very least a book on our topic is placed in our public lending library. Because of the quantity of books on our topic, we are not always able to do more. However, occasionally in special circumstances we are able to add to our Mad Market of books that are sold on the web and at conferences. Contact our office for more information.

I am a concerned mental health professional, how do I fit in?

MFI is open to all who support our mission, including allies who are mental health professionals and mental health workers. You will find you are invited as a member, and if you'd like you are welcome to take action and leadership for human rights in our organization. Welcome! A sponsor group of MFI that helps to network dissident mental health professionals with one another is the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, which you can read about on their web site at http://www.icspp.org