Anti-Saneism in Mental Healthcare: Mad/Neurodiversity-Affirming Practice

Saneism is one of the many interconnected systems of oppression in our culture, and is a variation of ableism. It refers to the systematic power and privilege granted to people who conform to our culture’s socially constructed definition of “normal” ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving, and the oppression and pathologizing of people who deviate from this definition of “normal”. The conventional mental health system in our culture is built on saneist foundations, and this can lead to “iatrogenic” harm – harm caused by clinical interventions that are intended to help. But thanks to the activism and scholarship of people in the Disability Justice, Mad Pride, and Neurodiversity movements (and the academic disciplines of Disability Studies and Mad Studies), there are now ample tools available to support clinicians in providing mental healthcare without saneism.

Anti-saneist clinicians do not view mental illness or disability (referred to as “neurodiversity” or “madness” by anti-saneist activists) as inherently pathological or in need of “treatment.” Instead, they help people find ways to live in harmony with their neurodivergence and support them in healing from trauma and “internalized saneism” – the harmful belief that there is something “wrong” with them, so common in people labeled as mentally ill or disabled.

Participants will develop tools to support them in incorporating anti-saneism into their practice. This will include tools from outside of the mental health system (e.g., crisis intervention, peer support, and healing tools developed by mad and disabled activists), as well as tools from within the mental health system (e.g., evidence-based healing tools that can be practiced in mad/neurodiversity-affirming ways).