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The Icarus Project http://theicarusproject.net is a mental health movement characterized by the view that many phenomena commonly labeled as mental illness

Mental illness

A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...

 should actually be regarded as "dangerous gifts". The name is derived from the Icarus mythology

Icarus (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Icarus is the son of the master craftsman Daedalus. The main story told about Icarus is his attempt to escape from Crete by means of wings that his father constructed from feathers and wax...

 and is metaphorically used to convey that these experiences can lead to "potential[ly] flying dangerously close to the sun."

History

In 2002, Sascha Altman DuBrul

Sascha Scatter

Sascha Altman DuBrul, aka Sascha DuBrul or Sascha Scatter, is an American anarchist, bi-polar activist, writer, farmer and punk rock musician. He is best known for his writing and as a founding and current member of the ska-punk band Choking Victim. He is a co-founder of the Icarus Project...

 wrote an article published by the San Francisco Bay Guardian

San Francisco Bay Guardian

The San Francisco Bay Guardian is a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. The paper is owned mostly by its publisher, Bruce B...

 entitled Bipolar World, relating to his personal experiences being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Among the dozens of e-mails and other correspondence that he received after this publication was a letter from Ashley McNamara, an artist and writer who identified strongly with his experiences.
The two founders, DuBrul and McNamara, corresponded for a few weeks before finally meeting in person and deciding to start The Icarus Project.
The first step, they decided, was creating a website where people who identified with "bipolar and other 'mental illness' [could] find real community and contribute to it."

Mission

The Icarus Project's stated aims are to provide a viable alternative to current methods of approaching and treating mental illnesses. The national Icarus Collective staff is set up to support local groups instead of creating the smaller organizations themselves. The responsibilities of the local group are to gather people locally for support, education, activism, and access to alternatives. The Project advocates self-determination and caution when approaching psychiatric care. It encourages harm reduction, alternatives to the medical model, and self-determination in treatment and diagnosis.

Structure/Funding

The Icarus Project is currently under the fiscal sponsorship of FJC, a non-profit 501(c)3 umbrella organization arm of an investment firm, based in New York City. The Icarus Project currently gets the bulk of its money from foundation grants, but also has many individual donors. There has been considerable talk for many years of alternate funding structures, and efforts are currently underway to explore 501c3 and cooperative structures. The Icarus Project maintains a financial transparency page. The Icarus Project does not accept funding from pharmaceutical companies.

The Icarus Project network

A full listing of local Icarus affiliated groups can be found on The Icarus Project's website.

Some of the local groups currently meet in

• Anchorage, Alaska
• Asheville, North Carolina
• Chicago, Illinois
• Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Madison, Wisconsin
• New York City, New York
• Northampton, Massachusetts (Freedom Center)
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Portland, Oregon
• San Francisco (Bay Area), California
• Columbus, Ohio
• Gainesville, Florida

Publications

Navigating the Space Between Brilliance and Madness; A Reader and Roadmap of Bipolar Worlds, was self-published by the Icarus Project in March 2004. The book is currently in its 6th printing.

In July, 2006, The Icarus Project released the first draft of Friends Make the Best Medicine: A Guide to Creating Community Mental Health Support Networks.

In 2008 The Icarus Project released Through the Labyrinth; A Harm Reduction Guide to Coming Off Psychiatric Drugs, and in 2009 this publication was translated into Spanish and German and made available for free download on the The Icarus Project website.

Media Mentions

The Icarus Project has been mentioned in the New York Times, by Frontline 20/20, and many local media outlets.

External links

• Eas6t Bay Express, August 3, 2005 - Off Their Meds - Modern psychiatrists prescribe pills for hundreds of "biological" disorders. The radical mental health movement isn't so sure - By Stefanie Kalem
• Columbia News Service, Nov 1, 2005 - A new movement views bipolar disorder as a dangerous gift - By Jennifer Itzenson
• MindFreedom Radio - Sascha DuBrul of Icarus Project Next Guest on MF Radio