Author Archives: Ron

25th Annual ISEPP Conference
Oct 28-29, 2023

The International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry will hold their annual conference October 28-29, 2023. The event will be live-streamed. From ISEPP’s website:

ISEPP’s annual conference is a time for practitioners, academicians, educators, lawyers, and those who have been harmed by the conventional mental health system to gather together in solidarity. It is a time for strengthening our bonds, sharing our work, and reaching out to others who haven’t yet heard our message. Our mission is to critique mainstream mental health professional practices that are based on a medical model, and explore alternative ways of helping people in distress without abandoning the cherished principles of informed consent and self-determination.

Speakers will include:

  • David Healy, MD FRCPsych – Randomization Was Originally a Sign of Madness: What Are the Implications for Clinical Trials of Medicines?
  • Arnold Cantu, LCSW – A Descriptive Problem-Based Taxonomy for Mental Health: A Nonmedicalized Way Out of the Psychiatric Model
  • David Walker, PhD – The Yakama Twelve Virtues of ‘Good Growth’ and Their Relevance to Wellbeing
  • Angie Peacock, MS – Recreating a Life Outside Mental Health Patienthood
  • David Cohen, PhD & Joe Tarantolo, MD – Two Worlds In Dialogue: Comparing and Contrasting Perspectives between Psychiatry and Social Work

Earn up to 9.00 CE credit hours. More information can be found at https://app.ce-go.com/25th-annual-isepp-conference/home.

Peer Respite / Soteria Summit
Sundays, Oct 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 2021

Creating Compassionate Alternatives to Systemic Interventions for People in Crisis & Distress

Brought to you by MindFreedom International
and Rethinking Psychiatry.

The Summit is organized to promote and support Peer Respites and Soteria Houses as effective alternatives to existing mainstream responses for people in emotional distress or life-interrupting challenges. This free international, online, participatory conference will give people the inspiration, tools, resources, networks and ongoing support to bring a Peer Respite or Soteria House to their communities. Click here for printable PDF flyer.

Day 1, Welcome!

  • Hard hitting overview of the data of the success of Peer Respites and Soteria Houses
  • Inspiring first-hand wisdom from people who have created, worked at, and used Peer Respites and Soteria Houses

Speakers:

  • Robert Whitaker – American journalist, author of Anatomy of an Epidemic and editor of MadinAmerica.com
  • Voyce Hendrix – Co-founder of the original Soteria House from the 1970s
  • Cindy Marty Hadge – IPS, Lead Trainer HVN-USA and Wildflower Alliance
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Day 2, The Big Picture Workshop

  • Peer Respite or Soteria House? Which to choose?
  • Philosophy and principles, fidelity and mission
  • Framework, design, structure, research and evaluation
  • How to organize in your community
  • More information to come on speakers
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Day 3, The Administrative Container Workshop

  • Organizational structure, incorporation, board of directors
  • Funding
  • Policy environment
  • The house, siting, NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard), community relations
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Day 4, How To Workshop

  • “Being with” instead of “Doing to” or “Fixing”
  • Choosing and training staff
  • Finding guests
  • Dealing with challenging situations
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Day 5, Where Do We Go From Here?

  • Building community among us
  • Continuing, in-depth workshops
  • Ongoing mentoring, networking and support
  • Resource repository
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Medicating Normal – Sept 25, 2021

Saturday, September 25 at 2:00 PST

Join Rethinking Psychiatry for a virtual community screening of Medicating Normal, a 76-minute documentary film exploring our current mental health care system’s reliance on psychiatric drugs to deal with trauma, grief, and distress. There will be an interactive community discussion immediately after the film focusing on the structure of psychiatric power in the United States.

Accessibility: If you have any accessibility needs or need language subtitles, please contact us at: medicatingnormal@gmail.com

“Medicating Normal dares to challenge prevailing myths about how psychotropic medications work, or fail to, in our ongoing struggle to treat mental illness. It promises to spark a long-overdue national conversation on the growing problem of over-prescribing.”

– Anna Lembke M.D., psychiatrist, faculty Stanford University Medical School.

Medicating Normal follows the journeys of a newly married couple, a female combat veteran, a waitress and a teenager whose doctors prescribed psychiatric drugs for stress, depression, sleeplessness, focus and trauma. Our subjects struggle with serious physical and mental side effects as well as neurological damage which resulted from taking the drugs as prescribed and also from attempting to withdraw.

Discussion Panelists

Cindi Fisher, a mental health advocate and activist catalyzed by the harm her 43 year old son experienced, and continues to experience today, at the intersection of racial and psychiatric oppression. Today she is dedicated to Whole Health Community Transformation. His tragic and resilient story, and her work and journey, can be found on her website RegroundingLove.com.

Braunwynn Franklin, mental health advocate, peer support specialist, and founder of 313 Network Solutions.

Dorian Taylor is a community member, a disability justice activist, and an abolitionist. They began advocating after their life has been shaped and molded by systemic traumas. They bring their motto “accessibility as an afterthought is the opposite of inclusion” into everything they do.

Alec Fisher is a community organizer working to end prison expansion in Washington while supporting incarcerated people and their families. After successfully defeating the construction of a new women’s prison in the state, Alec is working on a campaign to stop the expansion of Western State Hospital, a psychiatric confinement facility in Lakewood, Washington. Alec believes that disability justice and the prison-industrial complex are intimately tied and must be addressed together.

Keri Stanberry is a survivor of 35 years on medications and 7 years in and out of jail and mental institutions. She is an activist and NAMI state trainer for “Ending the Silence” and facilitator for NAMI’s signature programs. Keri has a certificate as a Community Health Worker, is a Washington state Peer Support Counselor, a Recovery Coach, and a medical assistant. She is a mother and lives in southern Washington.

Carolyn Green is the author of “LOCKED Behind (Hospital) Prison Doors 40-Days” sharing her traumatic experiences. Her active court cases in Washington State are aimed at creating new laws and changes that govern unlawful imprisonment (guised as civil commitment), to also improve the litigation process to protect the innocent. Carolyn graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science, with a minor in Education from the University of Washington.

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Runaway House with Kim Wichera – August 29, 2021

Weglaufhaus – Berlin

Sunday, August 29, 2021 at 10 AM PDT

The Runaway House is a facility where people can live who have experienced violence in psychiatric care and are looking for rights-oriented support. The ex-user and survivor movement in Germany developed the concept and lobbied for government funding. Since 1996, it has been funded as a facility for homeless people seeking 24/7 support.

In this webinar, Kim Wichera will detail the history of ideas of the Runaway House, present the concept of the Runaway House in detail, and bring up for discussion the conflicts that arise from the everyday life of such a facility.

Kim Wichera [GER/PL] (they/them) is an artist based in Berlin, Germany. 

Their works have been part of the Berlin Biennale, Biennial for Electro-Acoustic Music, CTM Transmediale Festival and TanzTage Berlin.

Kim works at the Runaway House “Villa Stöckle”, an anti-psychiatric facility in Berlin, and co-edits books on the subject [Gegendiagnose I, Gegendiagnose II]. 

They are a member of INTAR, an international network towards rights-based supports.

Recent public presentation–

UN Special Rapporteur Handover Dialogues – preparing communities for the future: rights-based approaches.

Livestreamed on zoom

See Rethinking Psychiatry’s policy on livestreamed events and confidentiality.
An event recording will be posted on our Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Time converter at worldtimebuddy.com

One tap mobile:
  +14086380968,,86337472062#,,,,*189623# US (San Jose)
Dial-in:
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kO1Wa5MB5
  Meeting ID: 863 3747 2062
  Passcode: 189623

For questions contact: RethinkingPsychiatry@gmail.com or message us on our Facebook Page.

Respite Houses – Sunday, July 11, 2021

Afiya Peer Respite: Creating Alternatives to Hospitalization

Sunday, July 11, 2021, 10-12AM PDT

Afiya Peer Respite first opened its doors in August, 2012. It is the first peer respite in Massachusetts, and remains one of only a handful of respites of this kind across the country. The respite strives to provide space in which each person can find the balance and support needed to turn a difficult time into a learning and growth opportunity. Recently recognized in the World health Organization’s (WHO) “practice guidance document on community based mental health services promoting human rights and recovery,” Afiya consistently aims to center choice, dignity, and self-determination in all that is offered as it supports people to make meaning of their experiences and explore how they walk through the world.

This talk will focus on

  • The basic components that make ‘peer respite’ what it is
  • Important lessons learned as Afiya nears its first decade in existence
  • Impacts and outcomes of Afiya and peer respites across the nation
Sera Davidow

Sera Davidow is the Director of the Wildflower Alliance (formerly known as the Western Mass Recovery Learning Community) which serves as home to Afiya.  She wrote the original grant proposal that helped bring Afiya into being, and has been involved through all its ups and downs ever since. Sera is also the primary author of, ‘The Peer Respite Handbook: A Guide to Understanding, Building, and Supporting Peer Respites,’ and co-produced the short film, “Afiya House,’ which serves as an educational tool on the concept of peer respites overall.

Livestreamed on zoom

See Rethinking Psychiatry’s policy on livestreamed events and confidentiality.
An event recording will be posted on our Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Time converter at worldtimebuddy.com

For questions contact: RethinkingPsychiatry@gmail.com or message us on our Facebook Page.

Soteria Israel – Sunday, June 20, 2021

Soteria Israel: A Personal & Professional Story

Soteria Israel

Sunday, June 20, 2021, 10-12 AM PDT

  • How a psychiatrist and a former patient turned psychology PhD student got recognition for Soteria Houses by the Federal Health Department.
  • How Israel’s Soteria Houses are similar to and different from the original Soteria.
  • Challenges and successes!

Meet the presenters:


Avraham (Avremi) Friedlander, a clinical psychologist trainee at Sheba Hospital in Israel and a doctoral student researching alternatives to psychiatric hospitalization. He began his professional career with a personal spiritual / psychotic experience, 16 years ago, which made him want to make a change in the conventional method of treatment. Together with Prof. Pesach Lichtenberg, he established the first Soteria Houses in Israel and managed the Soteria House for men in Jerusalem. In addition, he is currently a member of a number of founding teams for additional alternatives in Israel and in thinking groups for changing the therapeutic paradigm within the conventional framework.

Prof. Pesach Lichtenberg the former Head of the Department of Psychiatry at the Hebrew University, headed a closed psychiatric hospital ward for 25 years before being fired. He is the founder and professional director of Soteria Israel, a non-profit organization currently operating three Soteria homes and planning more.

Livestreamed on zoom

See Rethinking Psychiatry’s policy on livestreamed events and confidentiality.
An event recording will be posted on our Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Time converter at worldtimebuddy.com

For questions contact: RethinkingPsychiatry@gmail.com or message us on our Facebook Page.

Soteria Alaska – Sunday, May 23, 2021

“Being With” –
Stories from Soteria-Alaska

Soteria

In every instance, people treated psychosocially did as well or better than those treated conventionally…
– Robert Whitaker


Sunday, May 23, 2021, 10-12 AM PDT

Former employees from Soteria-Alaska will discuss key concepts of the highly effective Soteria model, developed in the 1970’s by Loren Mosher, as they were implemented in Alaska in 2009. The presenters will tell their stories of how they came to work at Soteria and their personal understandings of the concepts of “being with” and “contextual thinking,” thought by many to be the heart of the Soteria approach.

The presenters will

  • Give a brief overview of Soteria’s history and research.
  • Discuss their understandings of the Soteria approach using stories from Soteria-Alaska.
  • Share successes and challenges in opening and sustaining Soteria-Alaska.

Meet the presenters:

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Susan-Musante.jpg

Susan Musante was the founding director of Soteria-Alaska and director of CHOICES, an alternative to conventional community mental health services directed and provided primarily by people who themselves had a “lived experience” with recovery. She is committed to education and advocacy for the development of voluntary, compassionate supports and services that work.

Matthew Ladner was an active employee of Soteria-Alaska from 2011 until the program ended in August of 2015.  Matt has been active in the Peer Support Community for the last decade, with his experience at Soteria-Alaska providing the foundation of his continued work.  Matt has went on and obtained his EMT license and continues to be involved in the Peer Movement within the State of Alaska.

Spencer Ladner is an experienced peer support provider and peer supervisor.  He worked as a resident advisor at Soteria Alaska and oversaw peer bridging from state hospital to community while working for a peer run community mental health program.  He is committed to seeing Soteria programs everywhere.

Livestreamed on zoom

Time converter at worldtimebuddy.com

Event recording will be posted on Rethinking Psychiatry’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Please see Rethinking Psychiatry’s policy on livestreamed events and confidentiality.

Rethinking Psychiatry’s Cindi Fisher featured in Vancouver’s Columbian newspaper

Cindi Fisher

Vancouver’s Columbian newspaper featured a story about Cindi Fisher and her son’s journey in the U.S. mental health system. A message from Cindi and a link to the article are below.

Hello Friends,

I am very grateful to reporter, Jake Thomas, for the length and depth of his interview, and his accuracy and compassion reflected in the article!

There are 3 additions I think are important:

1. The restraining order placed against me for advocating for my son was vacated on 1/13/2014 by Judge Nicols. The court upheld that the initial charge brought by guardian ad litem Lisa Rasmussen on behalf of Western State Hospital was fraudulent.

I have a copy of the legal order signed by Judge Nichols. I was surprised to find out that it was not entered into court records, thanks to the investigative journalism of The Columbian reporter, Jake Thomas. I will have the court rectify that.

2. In regards to my son’s charges of theft, the restaurant owners informed me they had specifically requested the police only trespass Siddharta from the restaurant. The Vancouver police instead handcuffed and arrested him, knowing his record of disability, causing him to destabilize and lose his housing. This was a form of racial and disability discrimination.

3. The voices of those labeled with mental health diagnoses are missing. These are the people most directly impacted by our current mental illness and standard of care model. Their voices are rarely included, but there are many who have been through the system and recovered—sometimes despite treatment—who are the experts on what works and what doesn’t work.

From the local Oregon Mental Health Consumers Association to the international Hearing Voices Movement to The National Empowerment Center to MindFreedom to The Icarus Project to the vast peer recovery movement, these are the voices we need most to listen to.

Please MAKE A COMMENT at the end (the comment link is not immediately visible at the end of the article…wait approximately 15 seconds at the end, and the word “comment” will pop up) if you identify as someone who has had extreme state/mental health challenges, if you are a parent or advocate for someone, or if you think it is critical that the voices of those most directly impacted be featured in public media and have a majority voice at the decision making table.

Below is a link to the article.

Warmly,
Cindi



By Jake Thomas, Columbian political reporter Published January 28, 2019

Vancouver mom concerned about state of mental health care

Her adult son is eligible to leave state psychiatric facility, but quality of care, housing options closer to home remain issues close to her heart

Since November, Cindi Fisher has regularly made the trip from Vancouver to Lakewood, just outside of Tacoma, to visit her son, Siddharta. On a recent visit, Fisher said, she shared a meal with him at Old Country Buffet, took him to a local park and left him with some money.

But after their six hours together, it was time for Siddharta to return to the brick walls and secured windows of Western State Hospital, which as Washington’s largest inpatient psychiatric facility has come under scrutiny for health and safety violations.

Fisher, a 68-year-old retired teacher who has been recognized by YWCA Clark County and local NAACP for her activism, said that her son has met his treatment goals and is eligible for release — but won’t be coming home to Clark County…

Click here to read full article: https://www.columbian.com/news/2019.

Putting a Stop to Shock: A Major Legal Victory – Dec 5, 2018

“And the meek shall inherit the Earth.”

Join us in a celebration of the major legal victory just announced against electroshock device manufacturers!

Rethinking Psychiatry presents electroshock survivors Deborah Schwartzkopff and Michael Sturman.  Find out…

  • What is electroconvul sive therapy/ECT?
  • Why women and elders are more likely to be given shock treatment?
  • How “fully safe and painless” is modern shock treatment?
  • What does the court ruling mean for thousands of victims living with aftereffects of shock?

Deborah Schwartzkopff

Deborah Schwartzkopff worked 25 years as a Registered Nurse. She survived 66 bilateral electroshock treatments at local hospitals. She has been an activist since 2011, and is founder of ECTJustice.com.

Michael Sturman

Michael Sturman has an M.A. in psychology from the University of Detroit (1969) and practiced psychology for over thirty years in a number of settings. At sixteen he was a patient at a state hospital in Michigan where he received 20-30 bilateral electroshock treatments, and underwent a long and difficult road to recovery. He is now retired, and lives in Eugene, Oregon.

Wednesday, December 5, 2018, 7-9 PM
New Location!
Montavilla United Methodist Church
232 SE 80th Avenue, Portland, OR 97215
Click here for map

FREE! (Donations Welcome $0 – $20 suggested)
For questions, contact RethinkingPsychiatry@gmail.com or message us on our Facebook Page.

Click here to download flyer.
Click here to download 4-up version of flyer.

Open Dialogue – Nov 7, 2018

The Open Dialogue Method: A More Effective Approach to Mental Health Crisis

Presented by Alita Markus

  • What is Open Dialogue?
  • How is it very different than standard practice in the US?
  • What is the research from N. Finland, the UK, Italy, Holland, and Belgium?
  • Why this former crisis worker loves Open Dialogue!

Open Dialogue Training Is Coming to the Pacific NW in 2019!

Alita Markus

Alita Markus

Alita Markus comes to speak to us from Tacoma WA, after finishing intensive teacher training in Finland.

Alita has fourteen years experience working in emergency psychiatry, and generally in mental health services since 1992. She currently practices psychotherapy in Washington. Her passion is working from a community-based, non-expert, need-adapted Open Dialogue perspective.

Wednesday, November 7, 2018, 7-9 PM
New Location!
Montavilla United Methodist Church
232 SE 80th Avenue, Portland, OR 97215
Click here for map

FREE! (Donations Welcome $0 – $20 suggested)
For questions, contact RethinkingPsychiatry@gmail.com or message us on our Facebook Page.

Click here to download flyer.

Update! Watch the YouTube Video of this event: