Tosquelles

Francesc Tosquelles (1912-1994) was a Republican psychiatrist who went into exile in France, where he carried out a transformative practice in the field of mental health and psychiatric institutions. Supporter of the interaction of the interns with the medical staff and caregivers, and of the relationship with the people of the rural environment of Lozère, he encouraged living and working together in therapeutic dynamics. At the Saint-Alban hospital, avant-garde psychiatry, anti-fascism and cultural practices (including that known as art brut) converged and went beyond the walls of the institution.

Convinced of the intrinsically human character of madness, Tosquelles defended the foreignness of the language and a disordered way of saying. She saw in the fortuitous encounter – like a sewing machine in a wheat field – a principle to better understand our bond with others and with places, and a form of care based on the human capacity to overcome adversity.

Authors: Joana Masó, Carles Guerra, Éric Fassin, Mireia Sallarès, Julien Michel, Annabelle Ténèze, Raphaël König, Valérie Rousseau, Sarah Lombardi, Christophe Boulanger, Savine Faupin, Kaira M. Cabañas, Jean Khalfa, Paul B. Preciado, Mireille Berton, Alejandra Riera, Josée Manenti

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