Psychiatry has never loved queerness. Historically, LGBTQAI+ people have been institutionalised, lobotomised, castrated, over-medicated, aversion-therapied, pathologised and electroshocked. Even though being gay, bi and trans are no longer officially mental illnesses, queerphobia has not left psychiatry.
Most people have no idea what violence the mental health system has done to and is still doing LGBTQAI+ people. In this book queer people tell their truth about a system that wants to hide it.
The majority of books in mental health archives and libraries are written by professionals. The survivor or patient voice is not allowed to carry any weight. Why should the people who've never visited a land be that country's prime historians? It is like lions representing bird song in roars. This book is letting the birds sing, offering the chance for survivors to finally write themselves into existence
'These narratives, long overdue, demonstrate how sexual orientation, gender identity and personal history play a key role in our experience of mental health assessment, treatment and ongoing care. This book will provide an original and excellent resource for mental health professionals and carers.'
Dr Clare Summerskill, Writer, lesbian stand-up and singer songwriter.
LGBTQAI+ Phobia in the Mental Health System demonstrates how Gay, Trans and Mad oppression is deeply entangled - and suggests that so, too, is our individual and collective liberation".
Hel Spandler, Professor of mental health, UCLan and Editor of Asylum: the radical health magazine