The Perch

For more than decade, The Perch has served as our platform for bringing creative and artistic voices into the conversation about mental health. At PRCH, our work considers the many aspects of mental health—physical, emotional, social, civic, political, cultural, spiritual, and more. Our magazine’s goal is to offer a forum for listening to many different voices.

We conceptualize a “perch” as both a higher vantage point from which to survey an area and gain a new perspective as well as a place upon which to rest. The Perch supports our efforts to expand the mental health narrative to include new and unexpected voices, ideas, and creative expressions. The Perch is published bi-annually. We invite submissions from artists and writers across the U.S. and abroad, including people in recovery from all backgrounds and experiences, once the focus of the upcoming issue is selected.

The Program for Recovery and Community Health (PRCH) has released the latest issue of "The Perch," a creative arts journal focused on mental health.

The new issue, titled “Social,”was launched in person and online at an event held at Yale on February 4. At the event, the journal editors and contributors spoke and read excerpts from their work.

The theme of the issue revolves around the role of social support in promoting wellness and facilitating recovery from mental health challenges. Spanning 196 pages, it features poetry, creative nonfiction, fiction, artwork, and scholarly pieces that explore various aspects of social support.

Contributors include individuals with lived experiences, family members, caregivers, and scholars, showcasing a diverse array of original voices.

The lead editors are Charles Barber, an author and lecturer in psychiatry at Yale, and Chyrell Bellamy, PhD, professor of psychiatry and director of PRCH. The journal's design is credited to Jeanne Criscola, a professor of art and design at Central Connecticut State University. The managing editors are Graziela Reis and Kimberly Blackman at PRCH.

The Perch is co-produced by the College of Letters at Wesleyan University and Central Connecticut State University. The work was partially funded by the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services; however, the views expressed in the publication do not reflect those of the department or State of Connecticut. The opinions shared are solely those of the authors.

PRCH is a division of the Yale Department of Psychiatry.

THE PERCH announces an open call for submissions for its new issue to be published in October 2027. The PERCH is a creative arts journal with mental health themes focused on original voices. It is produced and published by the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health.

The title and theme of our next issue, THE MIX, refers to the double-sided nature of mental illness and mental health. Put together, it creates a complex, tangled and beautiful mixture of emotions, attitudes and experiences. To be more specific: there is no doubt that mental illness is painful, sometimes excruciatingly so, and at times cruelly limits its sufferers from attaining their hopes and dreams. At the same time, many psychiatric survivors have spoken about the newfound depth and awareness that their journeys have brought them, and their appreciation of every moment, and the new stories that they have experienced and learned to tell. Without romanticizing the burdens of illness, this issue of THE PERCH will attempt to get at the puzzle of it all: the highs and low, the joys and sorrows, and the brilliant things that can derive from the experience.

We seek poetry, creative nonfiction, fiction, artwork, visual art, and scholarly pieces that illustrate the profound melange of mental illness. We are most interested in personal stories. This is a peer-reviewed open call—all are welcome to submit for consideration. We anticipate an October 2027 launch event.

Submit by October 31, 2026 to https://theperch.submittable.com/submit

Email graziela.reis@yale.eduor jcriscola@ccsu.edu with questions.