Icarus Project

The Icarus Project is a media and activist endeavor broadly aligned to anti-psychiatry, arguing that mental illness should actually be regarded as "dangerous gifts". The name is derived from Icarus, a hero in Greek mythology, and is metaphorically used to convey that these experiences can lead to "potential[ly] flying dangerously close to the sun."

In 2002, musician Sascha Altman DuBrul wrote "Bipolar World", an article published in the San Francisco Bay Guardian. The article described his 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, now known as Jacks, an artist and writer who identified strongly with DuBrul's experiences. DuBrul and McNamara corresponded for a few weeks before finally meeting in person and deciding to start The Icarus Project with musician-activist Bonfire Madigan Shive. DuBrul has been quoted as saying that he has "superpowers" due to his alleged acute sensitivity to his surroundings.

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."

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 to mainstream medical diagnosis and treatment. The Project advocates self-determination and caution when approaching psychiatric care. It encourages harm reduction, alternatives to the prevailing medical model that is accepted by the vast majority of mental health professionals, and self-determination in treatment and diagnosis.

Journalist Jennifer Itzenson notes that the Icarus Project accepts those with a wide range of perspectives on mental health issues, but also describes "an edge of militancy within the group," particularly among those who reject medication. Itzenson also writes that while medical professionals applaud groups like the Icarus Project for providing a sense of support and community, and combating social stigmas related to bipolar and other mental health issues, the group's questioning of the medical paradigm is "misguided" and that rejecting medication is a "potentially fatal choice" for those with bipolar disorder.

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