Today's good news: VIdeos from the "Creating Connections Through Dialogue" conference at the National Empowerment Center

[cinephile]

This is some real stand-up-and-cheer stuff, folks. These are videotaped highlights from the "Creating Connections Through Dialogue" conference sponsored by a psychiatric patient reform/patient rights group, The National Empowerment Center, located in Beverly, MA. I was there that weekend, and I can tell you it was an awesome experience. The people presenting were light years ahead of mainstream psychiatry (but you already knew that).

 

Some of the speakers in the video are people who realized "their drug was their problem" and recovered from psychosis and mania once off drugs (Will Hall and Oryx Cohen), and others such as Laura Delano who survived toxic pathologizing of normal teenage behavior which lead to years of needless misery due to polydrugging. If you're interested in learning more about Laura's incredible story (and it is indeed incredible, I can tell you that), she is currently writing her story in installments on Whitaker's blog (link below). Also, the executive director of the foundation, Dan Fisher, is a recovered shizophrenic -- and psychiatrist!

 

*PS: I've also included a link to the first video of psychologist Bruce Levine's talk about his falling out with mainstream mental health practice at the conference. I couldn't attend that lecture, but I like what I've seen so far.

 

So take a seat, grab some pill --(oops, popcorn!) and enjoy.

 

Here's the video:

 

 

 

Link to Whitaker's blog: http://madinamerica.com/madinamerica.com/Home.html

[Altostrata]

Inspiring! Thanks, cine.