A few years ago, I wrote a big feature story for BuzzFeed News about a woman named Teresa Sheehan. She lived in San Francisco and was shot by the police there. In a follow up essay, now up on Mad in America, I discuss that piece and what I'd do differently now, knowing what I know about "mental health."
I hope you'll read it, especially if you're a fellow writer and / or editor, especially on this or related beats, especially if you a copyeditor or aid with a style guide, especially if you teach journalism.
I encourage you to check out Mad in America in general, especially if you're unfamiliar with it. It was started by Robert Whitaker, who wrote a groundbreaking book by the same name (which I recommend to just about anybody). I also recommend his Anatomy of an Epidemic.
Mad in America, the website, is an invaluable resource inasmuch as it gives us access to many points of view about madness, psychiatry, psychiatric treatments and much else, heavily biased towards the perspectives of those with lived experience. They also have the Mad in America podcast, which I recommended if you're wanting to stay very up to date on the radical/alternative mental health scene.
As a quick reminder, I've got a resources page on this website with that and many other media organizations, podcasts, videos and books recommended.
I want to build a gender-related page and hope to get to that soon.
My new podcast, Mad Chat, is launching super soon. Follow Mad Chat on Instagram, Facebook, and/or Twitter if you want to be the first to hear our trailer and pilot. Subscribe, follow, rate and review, and if you love the show, we hope you'll tell your friends. #madchatshow
I'm incredibly excited to share this project with you all!
Love,
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