Mad Students Society

Description

Based in Toronto, the Mad Students Society (MSS) is a group organised for and run by students who have experienced the psychiatric system (known as psychiatric survivors and/or consumers). MSS was created to provide peer support, advocacy and self-empowerment for students experiencing mental health issues in post-secondary institutions and other centres of education such as adult education, and privately funded education institutions. Mad Students Society works to create a community to empower, support and mobilize students who are currently or may in the future experience the psychiatric system. As a group members support each other, share similar experiences, learn about their history as a community, build from each other's strengths, identify barriers in the education system and address systemic discrimination. This is an interesting model which, to my knowledge, has no precise counterpart within a UK context. It provides a model for thinking about how peer support for students experiencing mental distress might be facilitated. The link provided here is to the website for the group, which provides some information and contact details.