What we’re about
This group is for people with lived mental health experience who work or aspire to work in Australia's mental health industry and want to be respected and appreciated for their efforts as well as being properly paid.
Such people are called Lived Experience Workers (LEW's) or Peer Support Workers.
We are in the process of establishing a worker owned and run co-operative that will enable LEW's to provide a range of mental health services.
The co-op will be established as a private enterprise without any government funding, assistance or subsidies and will offer services based on the Wellness and Open Dialogue models of mental health. Among other things, the plan is for the co-op to provide appropriate, affordable training that will enable LEW's to deliver high quality, affordable services directly to the public and mostly online.
A LEW's own lived experience of the mental health system should significantly enhance their ability to deliver caring, compassionate outcomes.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) have this to say-
"Many mental health conditions can be effectively treated at relatively low cost, yet health systems remain significantly under-resourced and treatment gaps are wide all over the world. Mental health care is often poor in quality when delivered. People with mental health conditions often also experience stigma, discrimination and human rights violations"
Our objective is to assist clients to access this effective low cost treatment that the World Health Organisation claim should be readily available but seldom is.
Australia's mental health system is widely regarded as being dysfunctional. Many fall through the cracks while others often receive substandard treatment that exasperate and sometimes worsens their condition.
We know this from listening to people's stories, examining many formal research studies and of course our own personal experiences.
If you would like to know more you might be interested in having a look at our business plan which can be downloaded here.
Download The Current Business Plan here
THE WELLNESS MODEL
The wellness mental health model contrasts starkly with the mainstream biomedical model. The mainstream approach claims that serious mental health issues are the result of an incurable but unknown brain disease that can be managed through the use of medication. There is very little credible evidence to support this claim but it persist regardless.
It's ongoing acceptance, seems to be the result of heavy, widespread promotion by conservative vested interests over many years.
The wellness approach is based on the idea that mental health is not just about avoiding or treating psychological disorders but about achieving a balanced and fulfilling life. The basic principles of the wellness model include a commitment to holistic, person-centred care, emphasising the importance of community, promoting overall well-being rather than just symptom management and individual empowerment by taking an active role in their own mental health journey.
The Wellness mental health model is not anti-medication or anti-psychiatry. It is capable of integrating with existing services but it is also capable of operating independently. It has been shown to be capable of delivering impressive improvements in performance and cost reduction compared to the current mainstream biomedical model. A number of organisations already successfully employ this approach including Diabasis, I-Ward, Soteria, Open Dialogue, Hearing Voices Network and others.
OPEN DIALOGUE
Open Dialogue is a mental health approach that like all Wellness Model approaches emphasizes listening, mutual respect, and shared understanding. It was developed in Finland in the 1980s and has proven to be highly effective. It doesn't focus on diagnosis or medication. Nor does it oppose all traditional approaches. It is about finding the best balance. It achieves this by seeking to understand a person's experiences in the context of their relationships and environment in order to determine the best possible individualised treatment.
The role of trained LEW facilitators is to create a safe space where all voices are heard and valued, fostering a collective understanding of the issues at hand.
In a crisis situation, a core principle of Open Dialogue is to hold a meeting with the client and supporters, usually family members, as early as possible. Ideally this is within 24 hours of the first contact. The immediate, care and support that LEW's can provide aims to prevent hospitalization and minimize the use of medication.
The process is fluid and adaptable. The frequency and duration of meetings is determined by the needs of the person involved.
This method has shown promising results in reducing psychotic symptoms and improving social functioning, making it an innovative, compassionate alternative to main stream mental health practices and services.
What Clients Say
Here is what some people in the UK have said about using a LEW operated Open Dialogue service
Jane, middle-aged woman
I was given a mental health diagnosis thirty one years ago. Last year Open Dialogue became part of my recovery. My Open Dialogue meetings are my meetings. In my meetings I’m safe, respected, heard and cared for. The facilitators are gentle and I talk without feeling challenged. I can talk about what I feel I would like to talk about. Anything. OD has enhanced my relationship with my brother because he is part of the meetings. Through my OD meetings psychological therapy was identified as a possible
part of my recovery. I’m now involved in this therapy. I’m not sure if this path would have been opened if I hadn’t been fortunate to have OD in my recovery.
Everyone that has Open Dialogue in their lives will have some sort of journey.
John, middle-aged man
I am unsure where the dialogue is going, or if it will go anywhere in particular. All I know is that I feel supported for the first time in my life with the Open Dialogue method, and with the team. It is such a distinctly different approach, where even though I have these issues, I have the opportunity to sit with people rather than alone, and talk about how I am trying to process and self-manage my day-to-day life.
Parent and daughter
Our enthusiasm as a family for open dialogue has grown over many months under very trying circumstances, such as both my twenty year old daughter and myself, being at separate periods hospitalised for months on compulsory orders and my husband as one stage needing temporary respite care.
Mental breakdowns resulting in hospitalisation are the most disorientating experiences that I have ever known. Add medication to the mix and it feels as though you can never catch up with normality or synchronise with people around you.
We feel that open dialogue has really worked well for our family because it has given us time, patience and sensitivity in order to recognise, alleviate and communicate what are often invisible or hard to get at difficulties surrounding mental illness.
Psychosis can be terrifying; not necessarily during psychotic episodes but also leading up to becoming unwell. Recalling to yourself or giving explanation to others when normality seems to have resumed, you can feel bewildered, ashamed, and paranoid and the expectation of being rejected as though you have done something reproachable even though you have not. Open dialogue has allowed us to experience a safer, kinder and more transparent setting to discuss with friends and professionals what our true problems are. These talks, we believe, have broadened our understanding, reduced paranoia and stigma, giving us greater hope and stability than we would otherwise have had.
Articles of interest
Here are some articles that could be of interest. It is likely that we will discuss some of these topics at future meetings. In the meantime it is important to realise that we are not experts trying to tell people what they should or shouldn’t do. We are people who have had our own share of difficult experiences who are now trying to help and support others to find their way forward, often in new or uncharted territory.
The Co-Opting Of The Peer Movement in Mental Health -Mad In America
Summary of Peer Supported Open Dialogue Principles
Peer Support and shared decision making in Open Dialogue
Peer Supported Open Dialogue (POD)
What people say about Peer-supported Open Dialogue (POD)
