Beyond Therapy: Autonomist Movements Against "Mental Illness"‪.‬

For autonomists, "mental illness" diagnoses and various psy practices are social constructions. Survivor and client movements provide spaces for examining those constructions and developing alternative constructions. These spaces can involve actual organizing spaces and resource centers such as the Freedom Center and its numerous workshops or venues and support networks such as the Icarus Group. Autonomist movements also allow survivors to develop their own psychological and social practices based on their own needs and experiences. This contributes, as part of a holistic approach, to survivor self-determination, empowerment and independence, aspects that are central to biopsychosocial recovery models.