Icarus Project
methodology in the diagnosis of mentally ill patients
The Icarus Project (2002–2020) was an American network of peer-support groups and media projects with the stated aim of changing the social stigmas regarding mental health. The project was rebranded as Fireweed Collective in 2020.
History
In 2002, Sascha Altman DuBrul wrote an article published in the San Francisco Bay Guardian about his experiences being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He founded the Icarus Project with Jacks McNamara, an artist and writer. The Project sought to create spaces where people could talk freely about their lived experiences in regards to their mental health.
Years later, musician-activist Bonfire Madigan Shive and counsellor/activist Will Hall became key members in The Icarus Project's administration and development.
Mission
The Icarus Project's stated aims were to provide a "support network and education project by and for people who experience the world in ways that are often diagnosed as mental illness." The responsibilities of the group are to gather people locally for support, and access to alternatives to mainstream medical diagnosis and treatment. The Project advocates self-determination and caution when approaching psychiatric care. It encourages alternatives to the medical model that is accepted by mental health professionals.
In 2005, journalist Jennifer Itzenson noted that while the Icarus Project may accept those with a wide range of "perspectives" on mental health issues, there is also "an edge of militancy within the group," particularly among those who reject medication.
“Icarus Project” enters the record as methodology in the diagnosis of mentally ill patients. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Icarus, Project and methodology can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5985100. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2002, 2020 and 2005.
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This entry incorporates text from “Icarus Project” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.