Soteria Past, Present, and Future: The Evidence For This Model of Care

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From Soteria Network: Journalist and Mad in America founder Robert Whitaker presents the evidence base for Soteria houses and explains why they are such an important initiative in helping people recover from psychosis and get their lives back.

“There is a long record of evidence that psychosocial care that avoids or minimizes use of neuroleptics can help people struggling with psychosis recover and fare better over the long-term than if they were treated conventionally with these drugs. The original Soteria project that ran for a decade in California produced such results. There is a renewed interest in creating Soteria homes (or other respites that de-emphasize use of neuroleptics), and in Israel, there are a number of such homes now operating, with insurance covering the cost of such care. A recent World Health Organization Report on Community Mental Health called for paradigm shift in mental health, away from the biological model that has governed care for the past 40 years, and toward a psychosocial model of care that is based in honoring the human rights of those who are being ‘treated.’ The WHO report pointed to Soteria homes as a model for such care.”

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6 COMMENTS

  1. I’d like to set up a Soteria house in NE Ohio. Anyone else in my area interested? Sam …? I’m trying to currently educate a former chef about such a need, who might be interested. I do know of local doctors and Ohio lawyers, who may agree to help. Not to mention I have connections with local non-profit funders, who may have funding for such. Anyone else interested in possibly setting up a Soteria house in NE Ohio?

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    • Well SE, I’ll be long gone before we see change.

      In the meantime, many shrinks are quite aware, they are being schooled, yet stubborn as heck. NOTHING can be done about that stubborn personality.

      Ever look at a shrinks behaviour?

      I once said to a doc not long ago. “you know you’ve got me, just because you can, not because of any other reason, and we both know that you have the kind of personality where your power does not bother you in the least and most likely never will”…..and I walked out.

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    • Hey Someone Else,
      here are the links to 2 mental health organizations in Ashland, Ohio. I’m pretty sure both are in line with the basic principles that MiA promotes. They might be able to assist you or at least direct you to others who could. The last link is to a group located in Toledo who are teaching Emotional CPR(Dan Fisher’s group) and trying to establish other similar things in Ohio. I’ve been in contact with various people connected to these groups, and you are welcome to tell them you know me(use my real name).

      I finally have an appointment with the director of Appleseed this coming Monday in the hopes of starting the support group I told you about to help survivors and their family/SO’s and anyone interested to walk together on the healing journey like my wife and I have using attachment principles to stay connected and facilitate healing of the deepest trauma and dissociation like my wife had/has. If that ever gets going, I’ll email you.

      Also, please add my email to your list if you don’t mind. I don’t know if I can do anything practically to start a Soteria House, but perhaps I’m wrong.

      I may copy this and send it to your email, but I wanted to offer these links publicly in case other Ohioans might have interest in visiting their sites and seeing what is happening in our state.
      Sam

      https://www.appleseedmentalhealth.com/
      https://www.ashlandmhrb.org/
      https://beliefactory.com/

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  3. Thanks Robert Whitaker.

    Soteria actually “works”. It produces positive results. We can say that the mind numbing drugs really are not “working”, unless one calls seizing a brain, “working”.

    The media, being pushed by psychiatry would of course report even one “bad outcome” within Soteria, and not mention the overall good outcome.

    The media, being fearful of powers that be, do not report on the bad outcomes that happen within psychiatry.
    The outcomes are horrific and should not pass for “mental healthcare”.

    The settings people need for recovery are just not offered, even though in the long run are cheaper, kinder, make sense, save lives, enrich lives, families, society.

    Governments are lied to by psychiatry, are brainwashed or just don’t want to man up and stand up.

    It is easy, it would be easy to make psychiatry accountable, but so far, everyone just finds it easier to not act.

    Psychiatry and governments are in exactly the same boat as the church and government were. It will always be this way until people become more educated or until something drastic happens to throw a wrench in the industry that that feeds off the vulnerable population.

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  4. I’d prefer New Jersey’s Earth House, if it’s still around. It places as much interest in your biophysical environment as the Soteria Houses do in your psychosocial environment, but not with filling you with the latest pharmaceuticals (or the older ones, for that matter.

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