Learn more about the speakers and facilitators at the upcoming conference, Residential and Community Treatment of Psychosis.
The upcoming June conference, organized collaboratively by Gould Farm, Ellenhorn, and Austen Riggs Center, aims to promote a thought-provoking exploration of psychosis treatment and recovery. With a diverse and collegial lineup of speakers and facilitators, our goal is to foster dialogue and insight into this critical area of mental health care.
At the conference on Friday, June 7th, Ross Ellenhorn will talk about a social psychological approach to understanding the "negative signs of schizophrenia," challenging conventional treatment paradigms. Jeremy Ridenour will provide insights into engaging loneliness in psychotherapy for psychosis, offering practical recommendations for therapists. Brett Thatcher will present a case study on treating psychosis in a therapeutic community, urging a reevaluation of current practices.
Then on Saturday, June 8th, join Phyllis Vine for a captivating roundtable discussion on her book, "Fighting for Recovery," highlighting grassroots activism in mental health. Lastly, Teri Bryant will lead an interactive workshop on Open Dialogue, a transformative therapeutic approach fostering dialogue and understanding in psychosis treatment.
For detailed descriptions of each session, please see below! To register for the conference, visit the conference website.
Title
Negative Symptoms or a Problem of Deplete Social Buffers and Disappear: A Social Psychological Approach to the “Negative Signs of Schizophrenia."
Speaker
Ross Ellenhorn, MSW, PhD
Description
This presentation explores the pivotal role of social buffers in motivating individuals within their social environments. By addressing the absence of these buffers alongside the "fear of hope," it offers a profound understanding of the negative symptoms associated with schizophrenia. Through critical analysis, it evaluates how conventional treatment approaches may inadvertently exacerbate symptoms, potentially contributing to iatrogenic outcomes where medical interventions foster illness. By scrutinizing these dynamics, the presentation aims to prompt thoughtful reflection and discourse among attendees, fostering a deeper understanding of the complexities involved in schizophrenia treatment. It advocates for reevaluation of prevailing paradigms, emphasizing the need for more empathetic and nuanced approaches to address the challenges posed by schizophrenia and related conditions.
Title
Engaging Loneliness in the Psychotherapy for Psychosis
Speaker
Jeremy Ridenour, PsyD, ABPP
Description
People with psychosis experience loneliness at higher rates than the general population and identify loneliness as one of the most significant barriers to personal recovery. While many researchers have called for psychosocial treatments to specifically target loneliness for people experiencing psychosis, there are limited treatment models that provide direct recommendations for therapists working with people with psychosis. In this paper, the concept of loneliness is explored through a review of psychological and philosophical literature and through first-person accounts of psychosis. Additionally, the correlation between specific psychotic symptoms and loneliness is also reviewed. Following this, four key practice elements are outlined, including addressing barriers to accessing the patient’s longing for connection, the loneliness of psychotic experiences, internalized stigma, and loneliness within the therapeutic relationship, that can serve to reduce loneliness through psychotherapy.
Title
The Stuff of New Selves: Insights and Tensions Treating Psychosis in a Therapeutic Community
Speaker
Brett Thatcher, MTS, LICSW
Description
Using Gould Farm’s treatment program as a case study, this paper will illustrate principles and practices supporting an approach to psychosis that takes seriously the complexity and humanity of individuals with psychotic experiences. Such a stance requires a great deal of respect for symptoms as both meaning-making and self-making efforts. Thinking with Saketopoulou’s (2022, 2023) recent interventions in traumatophilia, the second half of the presentation will highlight tensions that arise in current approaches to psychosis in mental health systems and offer starting points for reimagining our practices. The critical analysis will consider the notion of recovery and our collective fantasies of cure, the equating of neoliberal coherence with health, and what psychotic experiences might (re)teach us about our world.
Event Title
Roundtable Book Discussion with Phyllis Vine, PhD
Speaker & Facilitator
Phyllis Vine, PhD
Description
Join Gould Farm's Phyllis Vine for a round table discussion about her book, "Fighting for Recovery". This book reveals how grassroots activists challenged medical authority and popular opinion to insist upon recovery for people managing a mental illness. Since the middle of the last century, people with a lived experience have upended conventional beliefs that deterioration was inevitable. With an abiding pursuit of choice, they opposed the use of force and built a movement with innovative service options.They focused on person-centered needs, the development of skills with respect for strengths, and situated their work within broad-based fights for equity and social justice.
Event
Open Dialogue Workshop
Speaker & Facilitator
Teri Bryant, LMFT, M.Ed
Description
Open Dialogue is a therapeutic approach and a way to organize care where all treatment is carried out. Bringing voice and understanding to what is happening for both the person in the center of concern and their network. This workshop is a comprehensive fidelity-based, introduction to Dialogic Practice.
Learning Objectives
Understand the twelve elements of Dialogic Practice.
Learn through Dialogic Practice to lower the clinical gaze and master the art of reflections by creating new ideas and broadening perspectives.
Learn the skill of bringing voice to what is happening and not focus on what is wrong.
Acquire the practice of asking unusual, narrative, circular questions.