People who inspire us

He was one of the leaders of the Psychiatric Coordinating Committee and one of the psychiatrists most committed to the struggle to transform mental health care in Spain during the 1970s. He also introduced theorists of the anti-institutional and anti-psychiatric movement to Spain (Jervis, Gentis, Basaglia...but also Althusser, Lacan, Caruso, Chomsky, Reich, Deleuze), serving as editor of the Psychology series in the Cuadernos collection at Anagrama Publishers during that decade. He co-wrote the prologue, with Ana Serós and Luis Torrent, to the first Spanish edition of *The Denied Institution* (Barreal, 1972). Radical in his theoretical approach, he is the author of the books *Down with Authority! Science, Asylum, and Death* (Anagrama, 1979) and *History of a Rupture*. The past and present of Spanish psychiatry (Virus, 1995) was also reflected in his professional practice, as evidenced by the conflicts at the Santa Cruz Mental Institute (1973), where he was expelled, and at the Bétera Psychiatric Hospital, which he left due to the impossibility of real change, temporarily abandoning psychiatry – “work is life…or it is a burden, a weight one must try to distance oneself from in order not to fall into the institution of death” (p. 8 of Down with Authority…). He returned to public service in the mid-1980s as director of the Child Protection and Defense Service of the Valencian Community, and since 1987 he has coordinated a Community Mental Health Area in the Valencian Country. In these years of reviewing and studying the history of alternative psychiatry, the centenary of the Spanish Association of Neuropsychiatry and Mental Health Professionals, and the birth of Franco Basaglia, we cannot fail to acknowledge the figure of Ramón García. He was undoubtedly one of the leading figures in the grassroots movement that formed the Psychiatric Coordinating Committee and the Platform of Mental Health Workers during the late Franco regime. Later, as a member of the Critical Collective, which has consistently pointed out the limitations of reform processes, he has perhaps been the most steadfast and consistent in his commitment to a critical psychiatry attentive to the rights of those suffering from mental illness. (Biography taken from the psychiatry journal ATOPOS)

She holds a degree in Philosophy and Letters, specializing in Pedagogy, and a PhD in Psychology from the University of Barcelona. A retired professor from the same university, she taught in the Psychopedagogy and Social Education programs, as well as in the doctoral research master's programs. Previously, she worked in the educational reform movements of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, striving for the transformation of educational institutions in an anti-authoritarian direction within the framework of active learning and the modern school model. She did this work in schools formed by cooperatives of family members and teachers. She also worked in a women's cooperative focused on sexual and maternal health, supporting women's freedom in this area. This latter work is related to her participation in consciousness-raising groups within the feminist movement of difference. In 1974, while living in Valencia, she joined the Bétera Psychiatric Hospital as a volunteer and, on occasion, as a substitute staff member. A regular collaborator of Ramón García on the medical-psychopedagogical team in the 1970s, she contributed to publications, the Critical Collective for Mental Health, and the University. She has several publications with Laertes, Morata, and FLACSO, among others.

Psychiatrist, psychologist, and feminist. Head of the mental health service in Department 09 from 1986 until her retirement. Promoter and director of European Social Fund programs for the rehabilitation and social and occupational reintegration of people with severe mental disorders from 1995 to 2015. Promoter and co-director of the first university master's programs in rehabilitation at the University of Valencia from 1998 to 2015. Promoter and activist with the national association Women for Health since 1980 and with the international network Women in Black for Peace since 1992. Recipient of the OtshuKa Award, the national award for best rehabilitation program, in 1999. Recipient of the Progressive Women Award in 2000. In her latest book, "Nine Names," she recounts the stories of nine women from her time at the Bétera Psychiatric Hospital in the 1970s.

He holds degrees in Medicine and Philosophy from the University of Valencia, where he also completed postgraduate studies in Sociology and Social Anthropology. After completing his residency at the Bétera Psychiatric Hospital, he has dedicated his career exclusively to the Mental Health Services of Valencia, actively contributing to the reform of the asylum system and the implementation of community psychiatry. He shares the humanistic and interdisciplinary approach of both cultures in his publications on the history of psychiatry and the sociocultural representation of mental illness: *Crónica del manicomio. Prensa, locura y sociedad* (AEN, 1999) and *Sangre azul. Vida y delirio de Margarita Ruiz de Lihory* (PUV, 2010), winner of the Juan Gil-Albert Essay Prize. In 2021, he received the Alfons el Magnànim Institution Essay Prize for *Bogeria i Salut Mental a València. El Manicomi de Jesús*. She co-curated the exhibition *La Nau dels bojos. Una odissea de la desrraó (1409-2022)*, whose catalogue was awarded the Xarxa Vives Prize for Best Book of the Year (Centre Cultural La Nau, Universitat de València, 2022). Her latest publication is *Los locos de Valencia (1409-2009). Mitos, rituales y utopías en Salud mental* (PUV, 2024).

He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of Valencia (1969). Specialist in Psychiatry (1972). Doctor of Medicine from the University of Valencia (1984). He has worked in the psychiatry department of the General Hospital of Castellón, at the "Padre Jofre" Provincial Psychiatric Sanatorium in Valencia, at the Provincial Psychiatric Hospital of Bétera (Valencia), and in the Mental Health Team of Health Area 10. From 1987 to 1995, he was in charge of the Planning, Research, and Registration Unit for psychiatric cases in the provincial psychiatric services of Valencia. Her doctoral thesis, titled "Production, Consumption, and News in Neuropsychiatric Literature during the Francoist Period," was completed under the supervision of Professors José María López Piñero and María Luz Terrada. She has participated in the Seminar on the History of Psychiatry and Neuroscience in the Department of History of Science at the University of Valencia. She has also participated in courses for the training of nursing staff in psychiatric care and has taught doctoral courses (third cycle) in the History of Psychiatry within the History of Science and Documentation doctoral program of the same department at the University of Valencia. She completed her psychiatric training at Napsbury Psychiatric Hospital in St. Albans (UK) and at Aarhus State Mental Hospital (DK). Later, during her stay at the Institute of Psychiatric Demography (Aarhus), directed by Dr. Dupont, she collaborated with Dr. Poul Munk-Jorgensen on research at the Institute's Psychiatric Case Registry Unit. She also participated with Dr. Anse Leroi and Dr. Kurt Palsvig of Copenhagen in developing a "Fountain House" project for the integration of chronically ill patients in the Valencian Community. She has published numerous research papers, presentations, and conference papers on topics in psychiatry in general, the history of psychiatry, and psychiatric epidemiology in national and European publications.

In the early seventies, before I had even finished my degree, I worked at the Bétera Psychiatric Hospital, first as a volunteer and later as a substitute. After my experience in Bétera, I first worked as an educator with minors, then as a mid-level technician specializing in minors. And later, as director of the Les Rotes regional residence for minors in Denia. Afterwards, I passed a competitive examination to become a municipal psychologist in the Family and Childhood Services department, and later I was head of the specialized social services department of the Denia City Council's social services department. And since my retirement, I have been a member of the feminist association Matria.

She studied at the Faculty of Medicine and graduated in medicine and surgery, specializing in psychiatry. During her postgraduate studies, she completed a module in family therapy, a course in psychodrama, and attended various mental health conferences. From 1974 to 1976, she worked as an intern and resident physician at the Provincial Psychiatric Hospital of Bétera (Valencia). From 1981 to 1986, she worked as a neuropsychiatrist at the National Institute of Health in Valencia. From 1986 to 1987, she served as a psychiatrist at the Ministry of Labor, Health, and Social Security of the Canary Islands Government. From 1987 to 1990, she worked as a psychiatrist in the Mental Health team of Vinaròs (Castellón). From 1990 to 1991, she worked as a psychiatrist in the Mental Health team of Alcoy (Alicante). From 1991 to 1994, she worked as a psychiatrist in the Mental Health team of Vinaròs (Castellón). From 1994 until December 2012, when she retired, she worked as a psychiatrist in the Mental Health team of Xàtiva (Valencia). Since then, she has thoroughly enjoyed studying Fine Arts.

I have worked for over 40 years with people with mental illness and distress. When I first arrived in Bétera in 1977, I worked with alcoholics and drug addicts; later, in 1982, I was at the General Hospital of Valencia, and again in 1983, in Bétera, dividing my time between the Psychiatric Hospital and the Huerta Sur Torrente health district, until 1986... the year I continued working in the Huerta Sur region, Torrente, but also in nine other towns: Picanya, Paiporta, Monserrat... today, a good part of those towns have been affected by the DANA storm... Regarding my work at the Bétera Psychiatric Hospital, it essentially consisted of building and trying to provide structure to the people there and fostering healthy coexistence and social contact outside the walls of the asylum. Making their identity and daily lives more present. And all that work and dedication helped us a lot to develop the community psychiatry that we are practicing now.

Bachelor's degree in Philosophy and Letters, specializing in Special Education. I have worked in Education: CEU San Pablo University, in charge of the psycho-pedagogical department. In Mental Health: Bétera, Ward 9. In Social Services, first in the Child Welfare Department and finally in the organization and implementation of the Social Services Documentation Center.

In 1975, at the age of 24, she began working as an assistant in Ward 9, the women's ward, of the Bétera Psychiatric Hospital, where Ramón García was the head of the clinic at the time. She remained there until 1990. Afterward, she held other positions, including at the Centre Verd, run by the Valencia Provincial Council, and at the Sagunto Hospital. She returned to the Bétera Psychiatric Hospital as an assistant in 2024, working in Ward 8, the detoxification ward, where she continued until her retirement in 2013. She currently lives in Bétera, her hometown.

I started studying Medicine because I was interested in Psychiatry and the possibility of perhaps being able to help people with mental suffering. In my third year, 1975, I took the entrance exams for a job as an assistant at the Bétera Psychiatric Hospital. From the beginning, I worked in Ward 9 with Ramón García, trying to organize life in the ward and its connection to the outside world as best we could. I think it was in 1978 or 1979, after Ramón left, that I took a leave of absence to rethink what I wanted to do with my life. That's when I started knitting, which is another very important part of my life. When my leave of absence ended, I asked for an extension, which wasn't granted. From then on, I continued knitting. I earned a teaching diploma and then started working in municipal social services in Valencia. I then joined the Child Welfare Department with Ramón García, where I worked in a couple of centers even after he left, until my contract ended. After that, I set up my own textile workshop, dedicating myself exclusively to this field and, through it, working with diverse groups: women, senior citizens, the Roma community, occupational centers, adult education centers, the ONCE (Spanish National Organization of the Blind), and others. I earned a diploma in Occupational Therapy and subsequently began working in the healthcare sector with individuals with acquired brain injury, first in a private center, then in a public hospital. I continued working in textiles until my retirement.

Social worker with clinical and healthcare training. She has professional experience in diverse fields such as primary care social services, primary healthcare centers, hospital care (acute and chronic), international adoption, teaching, and dependency care. However, she identifies with and develops her passion for everything related to mental health. In 1995, she helped a group of families of people with mental health problems to create AFARADEM (Association of Relatives and Friends of the Ribera Alta for the Defense of the Rights of the Mentally Ill). She was a social worker for the Provincial Council of Valencia and AFARADEM from 1996 to 2013, where she trained with Ramón García, from whom she learned a great deal, both personally and professionally. She has also worked in Mental Health Units, at the Bétera Psychiatric Hospital from 2014 to 2017, at the Dr. Moliner Hospital, on the brain injury ward and the palliative care ward, and since April 2025 she has worked in Valencia, in a Mental Health Unit.

I am a psychiatrist. I began my specialization in psychiatry in Seville in 1971 under Professor Alonso-Fernández. Trained in Clinical and Biological Psychiatry, I began to learn about the psychiatric transformation movements and the new approaches to mental health emerging from Italy and England during the 1970s, which were implemented in Spain primarily at the Santa Cruz Mental Institute in Barcelona, led in its theoretical and practical foundations by Ramón García. I remained at this institution from 1972 to 1975. I will never forget the humane and transformative model we championed, nor the teachings of Ramón García.

I started in 1975 at the Bétera psychiatric hospital as a nurse. Later, with the sectorization, I moved to the mental health center in Manises, and in 2000, I moved to the Trinitat mental health center in Valencia, until 2018 when I retired.

Advanced Technician in Illustration (1986) / Social Integrator (2015) Workshop facilitator (22 years, 1986-2008) at adult education centers, youth centers, summer schools, senior centers, preschools, primary and secondary schools, community centers, and town halls. Social Integrator at ACCEM (internship and volunteer work, 2014-2017). Worked as an occupational assistant at the CEEM in Bétera (former psychiatric hospital) from 2018 to 2021. In November 2020, I began working as an occupational instructor at the Mas de Mur Center in Puzol (Valencia). Since 2021, I have worked as an instructor in a supported living facility for women with mental illness.