Agustina Vidal
Agustina Vidal is a versatile thinker and organizer who thrives at the intersection of theory and action. Originally from Argentina, she was five years old when democracy returned to her country and grew up active in the human rights movement which flourished there following the demise of dictatorship. Agustina has been part of The Icarus Project since 2006, and is currently a member of the national collective focused on the development of new tools and resources for both the U.S. and Latin American Icarus communities.
Presentations from Facing Race 2018
Decolonizing Mental Health
If we knew each others’ stories would we call it mental illness? People of color, especially women and queer and trans people of color, face disproportionate struggles with mental health. When we look for help, we often feel isolated and the few resources available aren’t made for us. We know that systemic abuse and cycles of trauma are often the cause of mental health crisis, so what do we do when the mental health system itself reproduces these same compounding systems of oppression? How can we develop liberatory mental health approaches that serve our communities? How can we shift toward collective solutions for mental and emotional distress? Join The Icarus Project for a workshop on unpacking the oppression of the mental health system, and how we can create alternatives that work for our people. In this workshop we will (1) Break down how oppression impacts mental health on a collective and intergenerational level (2) Examine how the mental health system reinforces this oppression and (3) Offer alternative narratives and tools that shift us toward a collective, liberatory approach to mental and emotional health that works for communities of color.
This workshop will be facilitated by The Icarus Project, a support network and education project by and for people who experience the world in ways that are often diagnosed as mental illness. We advance social justice by fostering mutual aid practices that reconnect healing and collective liberation. We transform ourselves through transforming the world around us.
Speakers: Shonettia Monique, Agustina Vidal