Dissent: Building Alternative Worlds Beyond Psy-oppression

This chapter provides a discussion about the implications arising from a participatory action research project, focused on women’s experiences of involuntary mental health treatment. Through a socio-political analysis of mental health systems, the study demonstrated the value of critical inquiry into biomedical understandings and responses to distress, highlighting the connections to carceral, neoliberal, and colonial logics. We conclude the book by discussing four key areas: the need to understand that psychiatric treatment is deeply entwined with gender inequality; to allocate resources to developing alternatives; to use research to disrupt the status quo; and to re-orient mental health awareness campaigns. Collective and creative research processes enabled us to explore the details of gendered psychiatric harm, alongside profound acts of protest and resistance.