I found this to be a very accessible and interesting read. Approaching psychiatry from a feminist and social justice perspective. The book does a good job of showing up the highly gendered nature of various diagnostic categories like borderline personality disorder or postpartum depression. It argues ultimately for democratised forms of care where various treatments are described so that someone can make a decision for themselves. In this sense it's not anti-pharmaceutical if it's the case that that's what someone wishes to pursue.

I found the chapter on psychedelics particularly interesting. On the issue of gender the psychedelic revolution appears to be led primarily by men and be pushed partially with highly financialised motives. Thereby blocking certain people from accessing it. On the point of psychedelics is she points to the nature of choice on the part of the person, the capacity to choose a medication and a ritual that makes sense to them personally. The substance plays a small role in this overall process.

The chapter on neurodivergence presents some arguments I have been thinking about myself recently. How the discourse of neurodivergence doesn't seek to dismantle psychiatry or diagnostic categories but, in a sense, to burst them at the seems, and seek recognition for things outside the bounds of standard psychiatry. The aim is more to seek recognition and acceptance in a system that typically dispenses these along highly guarded lines. This is quite contrary to other lines of anti-psychiatry discourse that seek psychiatric abolishment.

No Such Thing as Normal by Marieke Bigg