The book Un Abécédaire de la Psychiatrie (An ABC of Psychiatry) is the outcome of a collaboration between the artists of the duo NO SOVEREIGN AUTHOR and the patients of the psychiatric day center “La Fabrique du Pré”, located in Nivelles, Belgium.
 
Presented in the form of a dictionary, the book invites us to rethink the world of psychiatry through the eyes of patients. Original, visually powerful works of art created by patients in collaboration with artists illustrate each entry in the dictionary, offering a radically new, uninhibited approach to psychiatry. Each word, freed from historical interpretations, opens up to a new, more sensitive reality, closer to us and to those who live it. In their hands and before our eyes, the scientific lexicon of psychiatry becomes the language of the heart and soul.

As part of their workshops at the center, the artists invited patients to revisit the contents of a psychiatric dictionary. Using photocopies of double pages from the dictionary, they reinterpret a word of their choice. Writing, collage, painting, drawing…. Patients combine different techniques to offer their vision of psychiatry, rooted in a sensitive experience. The “plates” thus obtained constitute new interpretations of the psychiatric lexicon, usually reserved for mental health professionals only.

Allowing patients to propose and link other signifiers to the usual signifiers is a way of hearing and giving a place to their knowledge. Through their works, patients create a different vision of psychiatry, while at the same time telling their own stories. Through the beauty of these works, we gain a richer, deeper understanding of psychiatry in general and psychological suffering in particular.

The book is conceived as a presentation of a new dictionary of psychiatry. Each letter of the alphabet is illustrated by a selection of plates, created by the patient, on a word or concept.
Through the artistic expression of patients, this book aims to make the world of psychiatry accessible to all. The target audience is not just artistic, institutional or medical, but society as a whole.