[This post is--again--inspired by a breathtaking mixed media project of Timothy Kelly's that he will hopefully one day post; and in honor of mother's day. Best viewed on a full screen.] …………….. Every time I tried to talk to my grandfather about my mother before he died, the story was the same: “it was the … Continue reading »
Category Archives: Psychosis
Psychosis & Luhrmann’s ‘Epistemological Double Register’ (Part I)
I’ve been meaning to return to Tanya Luhrmann’s essay “A Hyperreal God and Modern Belief” for some time; I finally now have a chance to get back to it. What initially intrigued me most about this text was the fact that it was not written about, or with any direct reference to, psychosis; the overlap, … Continue reading »
Beyond Harrow & Jobe: Taking Stock of the Current Debate on Psychiatric Medications
A few days ago, Jobe & Harrow’s (2013) most recent paper on the long-term use of antipsychotics appeared in Schizophrenia Bulletin, along with a plain language discussion by Bob Whitaker at Mad in America. Although I understand that the intention is to “open up dialogue” about psychotropic medication use, particularly antipsychotics, my perception is that … Continue reading »
Embodiment / Participatory research / Phenomenology / Psychosis / Research methodology / User/Survivor Research
Interrogating the qualitative interview
[On the plane again...seemingly the only chance I have, nowadays, to blog...] Over the past weekend I’ve been reviewing audio recordings of recent interviews and in the process have been forced—in potentially productive as well as deeply uncomfortable ways—to acknowledge my own weaknesses and confusions as an interviewer. This is certainly not the first time … Continue reading »
"Mad Studies" / Language / Phenomenology / Politics / Psychosis / Theory
Voices and ‘psychosis’: dissociation at what cost?
I’ve long been troubled by attempts to dissociate “voices” from other aspects of psychosis, but this concern struck me with particular poignancy a few days ago when I was introducing Chicago Hearing Voices to a group of very marginalized service users (most transitioning off the streets) at a peer-run drop-in center in Uptown. “I don’t … Continue reading »
voices and conversations; ‘real’ and ‘pathological’
[N.B. this is a bit disorganized; I’m on a plane. I might edit letter, but require the fiction of an audience--I'm already speaking to you.] I have an upcoming presentation at the Society for Psychological Anthropology biennial in early April (loosely focused on the role of agency in the experience of psychosis) and hence have … Continue reading »
Language / Politics / Schizophrenia / Theory
Schizophrenia, “Success” and She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (SWMNBN)
I have finally reached the point where I can no longer refrain from writing a critical cultural commentary on a certain someone, a certain ‘celebrity consumer academic,’ who I’m confident I do not need to name because of the truly singular position she has come to occupy in public and academic discourse. Following the advice … Continue reading »
"Mad Studies" / First-person account / Language / Politics / Research methodology / Schizophrenia / Theory
On “first person accounts”
As I’ve almost certainly mentioned before, I have extremely ambivalent feelings about “first person accounts”–accounts which, all too often, “reduce [their author] from a whole and usual [thinker/citizen] to a tainted, discounted one.” (Yes, I’m intentionally riffing on Goffman.) The conviction that recovery stories are empowering, to some extent understandably, endures, and yet from the … Continue reading »
