Group 6 Presentation Project SOWK 2035

1. AP SOWK 2035
Section A
Group #6

2. 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/

3. 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

4. -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

5. •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

6. 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

7. 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)

8. 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.

9. 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

10. 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/po
sters.html
For both images!!

11. The Antipsychiatry Coalition
http://www.antipsychiatry.org/

12. 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/

13. 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/

14. 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.

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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, 2015
N.p. “Psychiatric Survivor Archives.” Alexa.com/siteinfo/psychiatricsurvivorarchives.com.
Alexa.com n.d. Web. 30 October 30, 2015
N.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.

18. 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/