Dr. Bren LeFrancois

Professor 

School of Social Work
St. John's College
Room: J-3018
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John's, NL A1C 5S7

Phone: 709-864-2555
Email: blefrancois@mun.ca

Dr. LeFrançois (they/them) holds a BA (psychology) from McGill University an inter-professional MA (social work & nursing) from Anglia Ruskin University (UK), and an interdisciplinary PhD from the Tizard Centre, University of Kent at Canterbury (UK).

Prior to taking on the position at Memorial University in 2010, Dr. LeFrançois taught social work as a tenured faculty member at Laurentian University, and taught part-time both in the undergraduate programme in Community Care at the University of Kent at Canterbury as well as in the post-graduate programme in Mental Health at Anglia Ruskin University.

Their doctoral research was on the topic of children’s psychiatrization and power relations within child and adolescent inpatient psychiatric services. In addition to specializing in psychiatrized children, Mad Studies and critical children’s rights, Dr. LeFrançois’ varied research interests include social justice focused issues relating to: the intersections between the sociology of childhood, critical childhood studies and Mad Studies; sanism, queerness and subversion; transdisciplinairty and in/disciplinarity; (mad) social movements, social activism and (mad) social anarchist practices; autoethnography, critical ethnography and participarty research; critical disability studies; and, critical whiteness studies.

Dr. LeFrançois’ main teaching experience has included courses at the BSW, MSW and PhD levels in social work theory and critical mental health. In addition, they have taught child abuse and neglect, social work with children and youth, community development and social activism, law and ethics, group work as well as qualitative research.

Dr. LeFrançois will consider supervising new PhD students and MSW thesis students with interests in the areas of childhood studies, mad studies, critical disability studies, critical mental health, critical whiteness studies and/or social activism.

For more information regarding Dr. LeFrançois’ academic profile, visit:https://mun.academia.edu/BrendaLeFran%C3%A7ois

 

Recent publications (since 2013)

Books and Guest-Edited Journal Issues:
  • Burstow, B., LeFrançois, B.A and Diamond, S. (2014). Psychiatry Disrupted: Theorizing Resistance and Crafting the (R)evolution. Montréal: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
  • LeFrançois, B.A., Menzies, R. and Reaume, G. (2013). (Eds.). Mad Matters: A Critical Reader in Canadian Mad Studies. Toronto: Canadian Scholars Press Inc.
Journal Articles and Book Chapters:
  • LeFrançois, B.A. (2020). Psychiatrising children. In V. Cooper & N. Holford (Eds.). Exploring Childhood and Youth. London: Routledge.
  • van Daalen-Smith, C., LeFrançois, B.A. & MacPherson-Mayor, D. (2020). Promising policies, ambiguous practices: An exploration of the status of children in Canadian health care settings. In T. Waldock (Ed.). A Question of Commitment: The Status of Children in Canada, Second Edition, (Chapter 4, pp55-85). Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press.

  • Gorman, R. & LeFrançois, B.A. (2018). Mad studies. In B.M.Z. Cohen (Ed.). Routledge International Handbook of Critical Mental Health. London: Routledge.

  • LeFrançois, B.A (2018). Psychiatryzacja naszych dzieci, albo autoetnograficzna opowieść o tym, jak instytucje „opiekuńcze” kontynuowały ludobójstwo na rdzennej ludności Kanady. In Witeska-Młynarczyk, A. (Ed.), Antropologia psychiatrii dzieci i młodzieży. Teksty wybrane (pp. 229-249). Warszawa: Oficyna Naukowa.

  • Mills, C. & LeFrançois, B.A. (2018). Child as metaphor: Colonialism, psy-governance and epistemicide, World Futures, 74, 503-524.

  • LeFrançois, B.A. (2016). Preface. In J. Russo and A. Sweeney (Eds.). Searching for a Rose Garden: Challenging Psychiatry, Fostering Mad Studies. Wayastone Leys, England: PCCS Books.
  • LeFrançois, B.A. (2016). Why New Brunswick Should Not Legislate Community Treatment Orders: A Fact Sheet. Report prepared for the New Brunswick Department of Health, May 25, 2016, Fredericton, New Brunswick.
  • LeFrançois, B.A. (2016). La raison pourquoi le Nouveau-Brunswick ne devrait pas légiférer sur les ordonnances de traitment en milieu communautaire: Fiche Discriptive. Rapport compilé pour le department de santé en Nouveau-Brunswick, le 25 mai, 2016, Frédericton, Nouveau-Brunswick.
  • LeFrançois, B.A. (2015). The meaning of excellence in the psychiatrization of our children, Our Voice Notre Voix, 61, 36-40.
  • LeFrançois, B.A. (2015). Acknowledging the past and challenging the present, in contemplation of the future: Some (un)doings of mad studies, Making Sense of Mad Studies, keynote address, Durham University, United Kingdom.
  • LeFrançois, B.A. and Diamond, S. (2014). Queering the sociology of diagnosis: Children and the constituting of ‘mentally ill’ subjects. CAOS: The Journal of Critical Anti-Oppressive Social Inquiry, 1, 39-61.
  • Burstow, B. and LeFrançois, B.A. (2014). Impassioned praxis: An introduction to theorizing resistance to psychiatry. In B. Burstow, B.A. LeFrançois and S. Diamond (2014). Psychiatry Disrupted: Theorizing Resistance and Crafting the (R)evolution. Montréal: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
  • LeFrançois, B.A . and Coppock, V. (2014). Psychiatrised children and their rights: Starting the conversation. Children & Society, 28, 3, 165-171.
  • LeFrançois, B.A.(2014). Voluntary commitment. In A. Scull (Ed.). Cultural Sociology of Mental Illness: An A-to-Z Guide. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
  • van Daalen-Smith, C., Adam, S., Breggin, P. and LeFrançois, B.A. (2014). The utmost discretion: How presumed prudence leaves children susceptible to electroshock. Children & Society, 28, 3, 205-217.
  • LeFrançois, B.A, (2013). The psychiatrization of our children, or, an auto-ethnographic narrative of perpetuating First Nations genocide through 'benevolent' institutions. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 2, 1, 108-123.
  • LeFrançois, B.A. (2013). Adultism. In T. Teo (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology: SpringerReference. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. DOI: 10.1007/SpringerReference_304657
  • Menzies, R., LeFrançois, B.A. and Reaume, G. (2013). Introducing Mad Studies. In LeFrançois, B.A., Menzies, R. and Reaume, G. (Eds.). Mad Matters: A Critical Reader in Canadian Mad Studies. Toronto: Canadian Scholars Press Inc.
  • LeFrançois, B.A. (2013). Ethnography. In T. Teo (Ed.). Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology: SpringerReference. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. DOI: 10.1007/SpringerReference_304748
  • LeFrançois, B.A. (2013). Queering Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: The subversion of heternormativity in practice. Children & Society, 27, 1, 1-12.