A mock funeral mourning those lost to psychiatry or who have had their spirits broken and struggle to survive is to be held as protesters deliver a public message to psychiatrists at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association on Sunday, May 6, 2018. “First, Do No Harm” is the message that protesters hope will go viral and get people to think twice before getting involved with psychiatry.
‘FIRST, DO NO HARM’
Mock funeral staged at the American Psychiatric Association’s Annual Meeting Sunday, May 6, 2018.
A mock funeral mourning those lost to psychiatry or who have had their spirits broken and struggle to survive is to be held as protesters deliver a public message to psychiatrists at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association on Sunday, May 6, 2018. “First, Do No Harm” is the message that protesters hope will go viral and get people to think twice before getting involved with psychiatry.
Our coalition brings attention to the harm that psychiatry has caused for many people in the mental health system, psychiatric survivors, people of color, people with psychiatric histories, and people experiencing other forms of structural oppression. Uninformed or court-ordered psychiatric drugging; chemical and mechanical restraints, solitary confinement; forced and uninformed shock treatments, lobotomies and other surgeries—all still sanctioned and utilized—have caused irreversible damage to the minds, bodies, souls, and lives of people who voluntarily trusted their doctors or were brought to court to comply with their prescriptions over their objection. Their mental and physical integrity have been compromised in the name of psychiatric treatment and, as a result, people have lost their lives or have been forced to reclaim their lives. We will mourn the deaths and the ongoing forced treatment of our brothers and sisters.
WHO: People who want to see Psychiatry held accountable; people who are involved with the mental health system; people of color; people who are psychiatric survivors; people who have psychiatric histories; dissident professionals; family members of people killed or harmed by psychiatry; legislators and elected officials; parents; senior citizens; veterans; adults; and children.
TIME: 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
DATE: Sunday, May 6, 2018
LOCATION: 11th Avenue between West 36th and West 37th Streets, New York City across from the Jacob Javitz Convention Center
SPEAKERS: Dorothy Dundas; Jim Flannery; Frank Blankenship; Nikomeh Anderson; Marty Felker; Harry Lichtenstein; Daniel Fisher; and others.
LIVESTREAM: Watch the protest live at protestAPA.com
ACTION: In addition to attending the protest in person in New York City or coordinating a demonstration locally where people are around the world, people on Facebook can change their profile pictures on Facebook to a temporary frame to show solidarity to the call for psychiatrists to first, do no harm, searching for #FirstDoNoHarm or Network Against Psychiatric Assault, or using this frame to take a new picture: www.facebook.com/fbcameraeffects/tryit/551249778608564/