Mad in America

On Sunday,  April 18,  at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, Rethinking Psychiatry will host an online talk from the groundbreaking Soteria program. Soteria Houses are therapeutic community residences for people experiencing extreme states. Staff and former residents will discuss how Soteria House offers a complete paradigm shift to helping people experiencing what mainstream psychiatry calls “psychosis.”   

Soteria is an innovative approach developed by the late, great psychiatrist Lorne Mosher,   in collaboration with other visionaries like Voyce Hendrix and Alma Menn, both of whom are now distinguished social workers. Soteria’s approach was about being with people in extreme states and helping them find meaning in their experiences. Their approach was inspired in part by the work of radical psychiatrist R.D. Laing.    

Rethinking Psychiatry was privileged to have Voyce Hendrix speak about the original Soteria California last November, and we are equally excited to learn how the legacy of Soteria is being carried on at Soteria Vermont.

Soteria Vermont is the only still existing Soteria house in the U.S. The original Soteria House in California and the second Soteria House in Alaska have unfortunately closed.  There are still a few Soteria Houses, and homes with similar models, in Israel and the UK and other parts of Europe. Our dream is to one day have Soteria houses in every state,  and for Soteria to become a well-known and accepted model of healing all over the world.     

There is no doubt that we need alternatives to psychiatric hospitalization and that the status quo is not working for many people. Surveys by Mad in America and Rethinking Psychiatry have shown that many people report that hospitalization did far more harm than good, and some reported that they experience abuse, assault and other major traumas while psychiatrically hospitalized. Multiple studies have shown that patients who were discharged from psychiatric hospitalization are at higher risk of suicide.   

While some people are helped by psychiatric hospitalization (including a small percentage of the participants in the above surveys), there is no doubt that we need alternatives to hospitalization. We know that a better way is possible. We look forward to hearing staff and former residents share the successes and challenges of Soteria Vermont.  

For more information on Soteria Vermont: https://www.pathwaysvermont.org/what-we-do/our-programs/soteria-house/

For more information on Rethinking Psychiatry, including information about this online event on April 18, 10 a.m.–noon Pacific time, visit www.rethinkingpsychiatry.org.