The psychiatric industry has a shadow culture, a surprisingly large and active base of self-proclaimed survivors, refuseniks, outsiders, dissident scholars, and prideful lunatics. Below, seven groups on the path to a new normal.

Support Coalition International
The epicenter of the "mad movement," SCI unites 100 international grassroots groups for people struggling with or falling out of the psychiatric system. Check out their on-line Mad Market – "a little library of dangerous books."

National Empowerment Center
A technical assistance center run by psychiatric survivors, providing the means for total, self-directed recovery in a disordered world.

Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology
Founded by maverick psychiatrist Peter Breggin, the ICSPP is a network of dissident psychiatrists, psychologists, and therapists who watchdog the impact of mental health theory and practice upon individual well-being, liberty, and family and community values. Revolution, from the inside.

International Community for Ecopsychology
Ecopsychology asks a simple question: does damage to – or preservation of – the physical environment affect the human psyche? Surprise, surprise: there's growing evidence that a degraded environment is hard on the brain. Check this site for research, readings, links, and luminaries.

Runaway House (Weglaufhaus)
One of the first anti-psychiatric institutions to get official support as a mental health center, Runaway House in Berlin, Germany, is a pioneer in the booming network of grassroots recovery centers for people in psychic crisis.

Survivor's Art Foundation
SAF is a starting point for anyone interested in the pen, the paintbrush, or the sculptor's knife as a means of mental recovery. One result? A striking website gallery of writing and art.

www.ect.org
Electro-convulsive therapy (shock treatment) is back in vogue, supported by new research and claims of kinder, gentler techniques. If that isn't controversial enough, its frequent use as a forced treatment presses heavy civil-rights questions. Enter <ect.org>, the locus of dedicated opponents, many of whom have been zapped themselves.