(de)VOICED: a trailer

(de)VOICED is a participatory research project of my friend, Lauren Tenney.  Lauren a human rights activist, Director at The Opal Project, Adjunct Professor at College of Staten Island, CUNY and Author at Existential Trash AuthorHouse (2005)

via Lauren:

Please watch, this is a draft. Please comment - I'm so curious if this makes sense to someone outside of my head. Thanks! (from (de)VOICED- Coming Soon!!!) Again, this is a draft - not even a rough cut really.  It has not been submitted to, or approved by, the committee.

via Lauren Tenney on youtube:

(de)VOICED trailer  not submitted or approved 

Isaac summer 2011

Preliminary graphic: www.3dcontentcentral.com

not approved graphic pmtips.net

originally titled, "(de)VOICED: A PARTICIPATORY PLANNING PROCESS DRAFT with (de)VOICED trailer" updated: 8-5-2013

Leonard Roy Frank on Psychiatry's Bible the DSM

via MindFreedom

Leonard Roy Frank is a long-time activist in the psychiatric survivor movement. He survived forced electroshock and forced insulin coma therapy. 

Leonard, who is a resident of San Francisco, has written widely about his experiences, and about electroshock. He is also the editor of a number of books of quotes.

Psychiatry’s Bible – DSM - Leonard Frank - ... by psychetruth

Psychiatry’s Bible – The DSM – Leonard Roy Franks – Anti-Psychiatry

Leonard Roy Franks, Anti-psychiatry activist and psychiatric survivor discusses 

the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorder which is put our by the 

American Psychiatric Association.

He gives an overview of mental disorders and role of psychiatry in controlling the 

nonconformists in society.

Franks edited the best-selling Random House Webster's Quotationary in 1998

 and The History of Shock Treatment in 1978. Active in the psychiatric survivors 

movement since 1972, he is a member of MindFreedom International, a coalition 

of more than 100 grassroots groups working for human rights in psychiatry, and 

also The Coalition for the Abolition of Electroshock.

Coalition for the Abolition of Electroshock
http://www.endofshock.com 

The Electroshock Quotationary may be downloaded free of charge at

http://www.endofshock.com/102C_ECT.PDF 

This video was produced by Psychetruth
http://www.youtube.com/psychetruth 
http://www.myspace.com/psychtruth 
Copyright © CAEST 2007. All Rights Reserved.

This video maybe displayed in public, copied and redistributed for 

any strictly non-commercial use in its entire unedited form. Alteration 

or commercial use is strictly prohibited.

photo credit Low-Ki photobucket

portions of this post were first published on July 13, 2011 

The Opal Network

cottagegrovehistoricalsociety.com

via Hugh London on youtube:

from youtube:

With welcoming live free music by David Rogers -- classical guitarist and singer-songwriter who has been performing in public for over 30 years.

Celebrating the Dignity and Empowerment of Mental Health Consumers and Psychiatric Survivors in Lane County!
This public fair spotlighted leaders and groups in Lane County who are working to support the empowerment of mental health consumer/psychiatric survivor voice!
Everyone was welcome to celebrate this Fifth Anniversary of the Opal Network to help bring mental health providers and mental health consumer/survivors together!
Free refreshments, exhibit tables, and music!

Mental health consumers and psychiatric survivors were invited to attend and speak out! Opal Network amplifies your voice.

The Opal Network is a Lane County coalition to support the empowerment, voice and self-determination of users of mental health services.

This free public forum has met quarterly in the Eugene Public Library since 2007. It was named in honor of the popular author Opal Whiteley [1897-1992], who was raised in Lane County, and was confined for nearly 50 years in a psychiatric institution.

Thank you to Opal Network sponsors:

Center for Family Development • City of Eugene Human Rights Center • Direction Service • Lane County Mental Health Consumer/Survivor Advisory Council • Lane Independent Living Alliance • Laurel Hill Center • MindFreedom Lane County • NAMI Lane County • Oregon Consumer/Survivor Coalition • Oregon Family Support Network • ShelterCare • Trauma Healing Project

The Diary of Opal Whiteley 

The Opal Project Lauren Tenney 

For All Of Us

For the first time in years, I can breathe freely. I am not able to keep choking back my pain.  As much as I have processed, vented, and worked on recovering, just trying to heal; I am truly amazed at how much seeking help has given me so much more to heal from. It is giving voice to my pain that allows me to breathe freely. I no longer feel as if I am simply bearing witness being traumatized by the experience; but I am taking a stand to prevent any further harm from being done to my son. Having the right to tell our story and doing so with the intentional and fervent hope that it will prevent someone else from being harmed. I must do that. I refuse to be complicit, compliant, or silenced. I will do what I can. I am a MadMother.

I have been blessed in so many ways in my life.  In truth, many of my blessings were presented in the form of what I perceived to be burdens at first.   Past events do not change; my perceptions of the circumstances and the events that have past, can and do change.  My willingness to re-frame traumatic events with intention helped me to deal with the trauma caused.  In the process, some of the burdens I bore, became blessings in my present.

We are, as spiritual beings, leading a human experience here, and spiritually we are "to edify one another," as my friend Pat Peterson, said years ago.  My friend Gina DeLuca tried to post a comment to a previous post and couldn't.  She sent me the comment in an email, and I am posting it here.  It is my hope that others who have experiences that are similar to mine and my son's, and feel alone; receive the support and unconditional love they need.


Gina DeLuca 

Here's what I wrote:

Becky, I've been an advocate and activist for 20+ years. Isaac is so blessed to have you for an advocate! The oppression of the system defies people to dare to speak out, and it usually succeeds in silencing people as most are afraid to do so. Truth and what is Right and Just is on your side.

Keep sharing the truth of what happened to Isaac. Many people, advocates and activists, survivors, humane doctors, and civil rights attorneys are paying attention to your story -- from all over the country, if not all over the world -- to what's gone on with Isaac. More accurately, what the system did to him.

The mainstream needs to know the truth, and survivors KNOW you're speaking the truth.

There's much to be said for "First, do no harm..."

I'm glad you've written state legislators, none can later say they were ignorant of such proceedings, particularly in terms of being devoid of fairness, court papers, representation, everything. And all done in one minute and twenty-six seconds to boot.

2012 is going to prove to be an interesting election year.

In Solidarity,
Gina DeLuca
Westchester County, New York