Mission Statement
Mad in Ireland’s mission is to serve as a catalyst for fundamentally rethinking theory and practice in the field of mental health in Ireland, and promoting positive change. We believe that the current diagnostically-based paradigm of care has comprehensively failed, and that the future lies in non-medical alternatives which explicitly acknowledge the causal role of social and relational conflicts, abuses, adversities and injustices.
We campaign for a change in the professional and public discourse about emotional distress and unusual experiences; for support, both within and beyond services, which meets people’s real needs; and for social policy which addresses the causes of distress at its roots.
Mad in Ireland will strive to do this in several ways:
- By providing an alternative media platform to traditional ones that are more in keeping with the diagnostically based care paradigm;
- Contributing to the new evolving paradigm in mental health through dialogue, collective and network sharing and profiling new paradigm research, education and practice examples in Ireland and from around the globe;
- By hosting a community of writers, artists, performance and audio visual presenters with diverse experiences and backgrounds who share our belief that the current paradigm of mental health care has failed and needs to be rethought.
- By providing links to a range of websites, podcasts and blogs that also offer ideas, information, projects and resources beyond the current paradigm.
- By providing a forum for readers to add their thoughts and opinions to this discussion.
- By providing a platform for showcasing good practice from lived experience, alternative perspectives and inclusive rights based grass roots initiatives.
The editorial team for Mad In Ireland accept, style edit, moderate and agree submissions to be published. However, the opinions, experiences and contexts of published submissions are that of the authors and not of Mad in Ireland