Parents and family members, if you would like to learn more about the Open Dialogue model of support and treatment for psychosis, consider registering for the 26th “International Network Meeting for the Treatment of Psychosis.”
This conference will be held online (from Spain) from August 24 to 27, 2022. Sponsored by the JAEC Foundation and the Universidad de Almeria, it will offer talks and workshops on Open Dialogue with local and international experts. These include MIA’s own Robert Whitaker, Olga Runciman, Kermit Cole, and Louisa Putnam, among many others.
Open Dialogue was started about 40 years ago in Finland. It is both a form of treatment and therapeutic approach that focuses on listening and understanding and engages the client’s family, social, and other networks. (Open Dialogue is one of the frameworks used in Mad in America’s online parent support groups.) It involves little or no medication, almost no hospitalization, and usually takes place at the client’s home (or wherever they and their family choose). Nowadays, Finland has the best treatment outcome for early psychosis, with a remarkable 80% success rate of reintegration into society.
Registration for the conference is required and the fee is 150 Euros (about $154 US; scholarships are available). The event will also be available online for 30 days afterward. You can register here.