Past Issues

Open Minds Quarterly is now in its 16th year, with a publication of 500-650 copies per issue and a distribution base across North America and around the globe. Our humble beginnings began in 1998 with a bi-monthly publication called “Open Minds”. After a year we found the newsletter format was simply not large enough to accommodate all of the wonderful, creative work that was being submitted by consumer/survivors and our office decided to create a quarterly journal now known as Open Minds Quarterly. Open Minds Quarterly was officially launched in the Spring of 1999.

Peruse through our past issues of Open Minds Quarterly and you will find stunning artwork along with important and expressive stories. Short descriptions of what was in each issue can also be found here.

A few of our past issues have also received reviews from NewPages. To read them, click on

Summer 2014, Winter 2012, Winter 2007

Care to know more details about each issue? Want to purchase a copy of one of the back issues? Visit our online store today.

The 2014 issues of Open Minds Quarterly

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The Winter 2014 issue includes Kate’s telling of facing her phobia head on — all 94 feet of it — in her essay on cetaphobia

The Spring 2014 issue was an in-depth special issue on peer support in mental health.

The Summer 2014 issue has stories of changing perceptions, through words, photography, and a ride across Canada.

The current Fall 2014 issue sees a common theme emerging in the writing, God, Spirituality, and Mental Health.

The 2013 issues of Open Minds Quarterly

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The Winter 2013 issue includes a story that looks at how sometimes the animal world has wisdom to offer humans.

The Spring 2013 issue includes an excerpt from “The Book of Al”, a memoir about Allan’s experiences as a psychiatric survivor.

The Summer 2013 issue includes a story from a woman who becomes a caregiver for a young woman with anorexia.

The Fall 2013 issue reviews the book “On Our Own: Patient-Controlled Alternatives to the Mental Health System”.

The 2012 issues of Open Minds Quarterly

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The Winter 2012 issue includes a poem on conquering the darkness in one’s life, holding onto hope and “becoming free”.

The Spring 2012 issue includes a poem written by two parents who express their love for their daughter with schizophrenia.

The Summer 2012 issue includes an essay on the power of family members and friends to help people with their recovery.

The Fall 2012 issue covers an essay on how interacting with people and doing activities helps one writer with his schizophrenia.

The 2011 issues of Open Minds Quarterly

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Winter 2011 is a special issue on women and mental illness as told by women in honour of International Women’s Day 2011.

The Spring 2011 issues a story about a man who spends thirty years mastering the art of avoidance to manage his OCD.

The Summer 2011 issue includes a personal account on how writing saved one mans life and gives him purpose in his recovery.

The Fall 2011 issue includes a poem about the struggles with feeling a deep sense of emptiness in ones life.

The 2010 issues of Open Minds Quarterly

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The Winter 2010 issue has a poem that examines life at a mental health ward and the rules/ structure that patients must obey.

The Spring 2010 issue covers a fictional tale on a man who confronts the often ugly truths of aging, illness and human response.

Summer 2010 was a special issue on PTSD examining the impacts of the psychological injuries received in the line of fire.

The Fall 2010 issue includes a story from a man who suffered from agoraphobia and how he confronts the source of his fear.

The 2009 issues of Open Minds Quarterly

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Winter 2009 was a special issue on mental illness and the family that featured the writings of families/ friends.

The Spring 2009 issue features a fictional story depicting the highs and lows leading to a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

The Summer 2009 issue includes poem about acknowledging the positive aspects in our lives in the face of mental illness.

The Fall 2009 issue has a story sharing some long-held family secrets in the hopes of helping the author gain full mental health.

The 2008 issues of Open Minds Quarterly

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The Winter 2008 issue features a fictional story about one man’s stay in a psychiatric hospital during which he met true royalty.

This was our 10th Anniversary issue and includes the lessons about life/death that Elizabeth learned from her grandmother.

The Summer 2008 issue includes an essay on how difficult it is to not internalize the fears and ignorance of others.

The Fall 2008 issue has a story about gaining understanding by knowing the symptoms of borderline personality disorder.

The 2007 issues of Open Minds Quarterly

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The Winter 2007 issue includes a story about a mother’s worry that was validated when her son begins to experience schizophrenia.

The Spring 2007 issue has a story about the power of human touch and loving support when you are suffering from depression.

The Summer 2007 issue includes an essay on a writer’s gripping certainty that his late father is reaching out to him.

The Fall 2007 issue includes a fascinating essay written from the perspective of the lonely life of a pill.

The 2006 issues of Open Minds Quarterly

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The Winter 2006 issue includes a poem on looking to the future with strength and light for new possibilities.

The Spring 2006 issue covers a story about how disclosing your mental illness is similar to being naked in front of a crowd.

The Summer 2006 issue has a fictional journal about a character who has manic-depression and bipolar effective disorder.

The Fall 2006 issue includes a book review on Dr. Jonathan Prousky’s book “Anxiety: Orthomolecular Diagnosis and Treatment”.

The 2005 issues of Open Minds Quarterly

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The Winter 2005 issue has a poem about the powers of using the act of writing poetry to transform one’s frame of mind.

The Spring 2005 issue features a story that explores how the many words associated with anxiety are often never spoken.

The Summer 2005 issue includes a fictional tale exploring the surreal moments before a suicide attempt.

Fall 2005 was a special issue with stories by youth on their perspectives of what it was like to live with a mental illness.

The 2004 issues of Open Minds Quarterly

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The Winter 2004 issue has a poem on the angst, heightened perceptions and sinking feelings when one has an anxiety disorder.

The Spring 2004 issue includes a candid explanation of one man’s hallucinations and how he has learned to cope with them.

The Summer 2004 issue covers a story about how accepting that you have a mental illness can be the hardest thing to do.

The Fall 2004 issue covers a personal essay on how an epitaph tells so little of the human life behind it

The 2003 issues of Open Minds Quarterly

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The Winter 2003 issue covers an artist’s recount on his journey to recovery from obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

The Spring 2003 issue has a story written from the perspective of “mental illness” and what the illness says to its victims.

The Summer 2003 issue has a story about overcoming stigma and shame to live proudly with one’s bipolar illness.

The Fall 2003 issue includes a poem on the transitions we go through in life and understanding ourselves on a deeper level.

The 2002 issues of Open Minds Quarterly

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The Winter 2002 issue included a view on mental illness, crime, and life inside a corrections facility.

The Spring 2002 issue has a story on how one man tapped into his personal strengths to overcome his depression.

The Summer 2002 issue reviews David Horrobin’s book “The Madness of Adam and Eve: How Schizophrenia Shaped Humanity".

The Fall 2002 issue covers a creative look at the beauty and serenity of the Northern Ontario landscape.

The 2001 issues of Open Minds Quarterly

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The Winter 2001 Issue includes a powerful recounting of a suicide attempt and an ensuring spiritual rebirth.

The Spring 2001 Issue covers a poem that relates garbage being left to rot outside, to the darker sides of having a mental illness.

The Summer 2001 Issue has a movie review of the Oscar-winning action flick “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”.

The Fall 2001 Issue includes a fictitious tale of one man’s experience with mental illness and the health care system.

The 2000 issues of Open Minds Quarterly

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The Winter 2000 issue has a poem about the love that one woman feels for someone and her longing to be with this person.

The Spring 2000 issue includes a fictional story about Margie’s twin, Mia, who has schizophrenia and becomes pregnant.

The Summer 2000 issue includes a story on how sometimes accepting mental illness can be more difficult for a family member.

The Fall 2000 issue includes a story about realizing the importance of community supports for one’s recovery.

The 1999 issues of Open Minds Quarterly

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Spring 1999 was the first issue of Open Minds Quarterly that was distributed.The issue emerged from newsletters in 1998.

The Summer 1999 issue had a story on how love and a belief in God helped a woman with schizoaffective disorder.

The Fall 1999 issue included a story by a novelist searching for answers and closure after her brother committed suicide.

The 1998 newsletters of Open Minds

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The January/February 1998 newsletter was the first newsletter from The Writer’s Circle at NISA/Northern Initiative for Social Action.

The March/April 1998 newsletter covers a story addressing living with depression and finding the strength to survive and recover.

The May/June 1998 newsletter includes a story of how alternative treatments were very effective in helping one mans healing.

The July/August 1998 newsletter includes an essay on the sociopolitical realities of being labelled as having a mental illness.

The September/October 1998 newsletter has a poem on feeling lost, buried and helpless in the dark sea of life.

The November/December 1998 newsletter was the last newsletter released before our office launched "Open Minds Quarterly".

Open Minds Quarterly is a publication of The Writer's Circle, a project of NISA/Northern Initiative for Social Action. Open Minds Quarterly is dedicated to writers worldwide who have survived depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and other mental illnesses.

Discover fiction, book reviews, poems and first-person narrative accounts. Be inspired. Be moved. Be part of the change.

"As someone with a couple of debilitating mental illnesses, it is always both a comfort and an encouragement to read the work of other writers and patients who go through similar things. I learn from their experiences and insights, and also take heart in knowing that I'm not the only one fighting this. "

"After all these years I have yet to find another quality mental health zine like Open Minds Quarterly"

NISA/Northern Initiative for Social Action 2014

Be Inspired. Be Moved. Be Part of the Change.