A Fragile Revolution: Consumers and Psychiatric Survivors Confront the Power of the Mental Health System

by Barbara Everett

Investigates the complex relationship between ex-mental patients, the government, the mental health system, and mental health professionals. It also explores how changes in policy have affected that relationship, creating new tensions and new opportunities. Using qualitative interviews with prominent consumer and survivor activists, Everett examines how consumers and survivors define themselves, how they define mental illness, and how their personal experience has been turned into political action.

251 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Barbara Everett was a Canadian-born British academic and literary critic, whose work appeared frequently in the London Review of Books and The Independent. In addition to her own publications, she is recognised as a leading Shakespeare scholar.

Reviews

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really glad this book exists. There isn’t that much written about mental health consumer-survivor movements, especially in Canada and I appreciated the exploratory and curious tone of this book. I think it does a good job of highlighting some of the challenges and successes of these movements and some of the questions and issues we face. Sadly, about 25 years after this study, a lot of the same questions, issues and challenges exist.

This book comes out of an academic study and I always wish academic writing was more narrative and down to earth but this is more accessible than most. I dog-eared a lot of pages and will be returning to this regularly in my work (and personal life too maybe) I’m sure.

This quote from participant Jennifer Chambers, at the end of the book really stands out:
“My hope is that the movement will develop an independent vision of what we want to have happen so that mental health reform doesn’t end up being an endless series of tiny variations of what we have now…so that there will be some actual, real, life-changing alternatives developed so that we can see that it doesn’t have to be the way it is now….” Amen 🙏