01 May Talking Back to the Psychiatric Norm
Hats off to PJ Moynihan (writer and producer), Oryx Cohen (producer) and Gayle Berg (executive producer) of “Healing Voices” for their documentary film exploring the experience labeled, “psychosis.” And hats off to the hundreds of community organizations worldwide who have, since its release in April 2016, sponsored more than 500 screenings of the film.
These screenings have been hosted by organizations dedicated to creating a shift in our cultural understanding of mental health issues or what society commonly refers to as “mental illness.” Designed to be a catalyst for conversation through personal stories of people who are “growing through their madness” and interviews with some leading critics of institutionalized psychiatry, the film challenges people to rethink the medical model of mental illness, and invites a new kind of community dialogue on mental health.
When the East Side Institute was approached to participate in the first New York City showing of “Healing Voices,” we enthusiastically said “Yes.” We’re proud to be among the cosponsors of the May 13 screen at the Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan (along with the following organizations: Columbia Arts Access, #EmergingProud, Hearing Voices NYC, the International Society for Psychological and Social Approaches to Psychosis/US, and the International Spiritual Emergence Network).
And I’m very pleased to have a role in the post-screening Q & A along with the writer and producers and a representative from Hearing Voices NYC.
To use Robert Whitaker and Lisa Cosgrove’s term (in their book, Psychiatry Under the Influence)—the “institutional corruption” of psychiatry zones us out; film showings like this can wake us up.
NYC Premiere of Healing Voices
Saturday, May 13, Doors open 3:00 p.m.; screening 3:30 p.m.
Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue (at 2nd Street), Manhattan
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