Dr Cathy Wield was born in India, to a diplomat’s family. She lost 16 years of her medical career as an emergency physician when she acquired a psychiatric diagnosis and uses these experiences as a writer, speaker and ‘mental health’ advocate. She is also a grandmother, a volunteer Patient Safety Partner for NHS England, and member of the MITUK team.
Her most recent memoir, ‘Unshackled Mind’ is a story of hope and resilience, written from the dual perspective of a doctor and a patient who took many years to discover the truth about psychiatry.
She endured frequent hospital detentions against her will, numerous psychiatric drugs, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and even psychosurgery – interventions which only deepened her suffering.
Through profound self-discovery, she finally uncovered the true causes of her emotional turmoil, including her susceptibility to the influence and coercion by powerful men, particularly those within the medical profession. This transformative shift in her mindset empowered her to walk away from psychiatry and find her own way to recovery.
Alongside numerous talks, regular blogs & articles, Cathy was filmed for the documentary ‘Boarding On Insanity’. In sharing her life story, she aims to inspire hope, re-empower ‘psychiatrised’ people and transform systems of care for those who suffer from emotional/mental difficulties, regardless of the nature of any presumed psychiatric diagnosis.