The Dear GP collective began on Twitter when a group of us began sharing frustrations about the letters we receive from mental health professionals. These letters are usually written by the professional to a patient’s GP, sometimes copied to the patient themselves. The language is often dehumanising, and the mental health professional’s own subjective analysis is privileged over anything the patient might say. Sometimes they come across as a plain character assassination.

One woman tweeted how their recent clinic letter had stated ‘has no hair’. She questioned the value of this information to her or her GP, both of whom are, of course, fully aware of the hair situation. In the ensuing discussion, people began writing satirical letters to their GPs, describing their mental health professionals in the style of a clinical evaluation.

After the idea took hold, we decided to collect all the letters in a zine, along with art and repurposed clinical notes, in order to extend the solidarity to others offline who know these frustrations so well. You can download the zine for free here

We hope you will continue writing and sharing your letters with us under the hashtag #DearGP on Twitter or through direct message @Dear_GP

You can also email us at DearGPLetters@gmail.com