2018 Conference

In its inaugural year, the Rebellious Psychiatry conference brought together activists, artists, consumers, mental health professionals, and students to form a strong, interdisciplinary coalition for social justice. Our conversations at RebPsych2017 helped us understand that there are multiple forms of justice that operate in the field of mental health. This year we build upon that foundation, seeking to explore and unite these “multiple justices.” For example, two paradigms of justice emerged last year: one seeks to expand access to care and address mental health disparities, and another critiques the history and the very practice of mental health care. RebPsych2018 will interrogate the various, and sometimes conflicting, conceptions of justice. What forms of justice are currently mobilized and supported within the field of mental health and by mental health institutions? What forms of justice are excluded? How could these multiple justices inform each other in a more integrated manner? How do mental health care providers act as a credible force in advancing justice? When it comes to activism, is there a boundary between the professional and the political, and if so, when and how was this boundary conceived?

For this year's conference, we solicited proposals from a diverse array of people, including health professionals, activists, community organizers, scholars, patients, artists, students, and writers. The resulting program includes a rich variety of traditional academic papers, panels, discussions of activist work, and artistic projects. As always, we hope to foster dialogue, partnerships, and sharing of ideas that will continue long after the conference is over. We look forward to seeing you on September 28!

Friday, September 28, 2018

• Watch a video of Mychal Denzel Smith's keynote address at RebPsych 2018
• Download the 2018 RebPsychProgram

Mychal Denzel Smith is the New York Times bestselling author of Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching (Nation Books, 2016) and a 2017 NAACP Image Award Nominee. His work has appeared, online and in print, for publications such as the Washington Post, New Republic, New York Times Book Review, Harper’s, The Nation, The Atlantic, Paris Review, Complex, GQ, Guernica, Literary Hub, Pitchfork, Buzzfeed, The Guardian, and many others. He has appeared as a commentator or MSNBC, CNN, Democracy NOW!, NPR, and numerous other national/local radio and television outlets. He is featured in and was a consulting producer for "Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story," the Paramount Network docuseries executive produced by Jay-Z. In 2014 and 2016, TheRoot.com named him one of the 100 Most Influential African-Americans in their annual The Root 100 list. He is a fellow at The Nation Institute.