Introduction to Open Dialogue Approach to First Episode Psychosis

A Workshop With Will Hall, MA, DiplPW

Sunday, February 10, 2013 10am-4:00pm
Process Work Institute
2049 NW Hoyt St. Portland OR

Workshop fee: $90; Pre-registration recommended

info: portlandhearingvoices@gmail.com

CEU’s are available for this event

Download flyer here: http://www.portlandhearingvoices .net/files/ OpenDialogIntroductionWorkshop2013.pdf.

Co-Sponsored by Portland Hearing Voices, Mental Health Association of Portland, and Empowerment Initiatives.

Dr. Jaakko Seikkula and colleagues in Finland have developed “Open Dialogue,” a family network approach to first episode psychosis. Open Dialogue de-emphasizes pharmaceutical intervention and instead establishes a dialogue with the social network and organizes a “treatment meeting” within twenty-four hours. This reduces hospitalization, lowers use of medication, and leads to less recurrance of crisis.

In a five-year follow-up, 83% of patients returned to their jobs or studies and were not receiving government disability, and 77% did not have psychotic symptoms. Open Dialogue is gaining support in the US after Robert Whitaker, in his book Anatomy of An Epidemic, featured it as an effective alternative to the poor treatment outcomes for psychosis in the US.

Open Dialogue is a new way of approaching psychosis that is rich with application in the US: low use of medications, team approach, working with families and relationships, dialogic listening, non-hierarcy and openness among professionals, non-diagnostic language, and expectation of recovery. Come learn about how Open Dialogue helps people and how we can use these approaches in the US. Similarities with Process Work and other approaches will be addressed, and you will learn new tools to put into practice right away.

Portland Hearing Voices Director, schizophrenia diagnosis survivor, and therapist Will Hall is currently training with Dr. Seikkula and his colleague Dr. Mary Olson in Open Dialogue at the Institute for Dialogic Practice. This introductory workshop with Will provides a basic introduction to Open Dialogue and the concepts behind it. (Open Dialogue is a Finnish hospital clinical method based on 3 years+ training, and this Introduction does not represent the depth of that method, but instead serves to spark interest in learning more.) This is the third year this popular workshop has been offered in Portland.

A limited number of scholarships are available for this workshop, please contact us.

More info: http://www.madnessradio.net/madness-radio-mary-olson-open-dialog, http:// beyondmeds.com/2011/03/21/finnishopendialogue/, www.willhall.net/opendialogue