I am hopeful and looking forward to reading the report. I am especially interested in seeing the response it will receive in the US, given how great a difference there is between the United States and Europe generally in the understanding and treatment of mental health problems and those who experience them;both in the wider public and in the communities of research and professional practice.
I'd say that it's about time ⌚!
Here are a few excerpts from the press release:
21st March 2015 will see the US launch of the British Psychological Society's Division of Clinical Psychology's ground-breaking report 'Understanding Psychosis and Schizophrenia'.
It provides an accessible overview of the current state of knowledge, and its conclusions have profound implications both for the way we understand 'mental illness' and for the future of mental health services.
The report's editor, Consultant Clinical Psychologist Anne Cooke from the Salomons Centre for Applied Psychology, Canterbury Christ Church University, said:
"In the past we have often seen drugs as the most important form of treatment. Whilst they have a place, we now need to concentrate on helping each person to make sense of their experiences and find the support that works for them. My dream is that our report will contribute to a sea change in attitudes so that rather than facing prejudice, fear and discrimination, people who experience psychosis will find those around them accepting, open-minded and willing to help."
The report challenges received wisdom about the nature of mental illness and has led to widespread media coverage and debate in the UK.
Many people believe that schizophrenia is a frightening brain disease that makes people unpredictable and potentially violent, and can only be controlled by medication. However the UK has been at the forefront of research into the psychology of psychosis conducted over the last twenty years, and which reveals that this view is false.
No-one can tell for sure what has caused a particular person's problems. The only way is to sit down with them and try and work it out.
Services should not insist that people see themselves as ill. Some prefer to think of their problems as, for example, an aspect of their personality which sometimes gets them into trouble but which they would not want to be without.
The report is the product of a partnership between expert psychologists and experts by experience - people who have themselves experienced psychosis... an example of professionals and people with personal experience working together.
Both the report's content and the collaborative process by which it has been written are examples of the importance and power of moving beyond 'them and us' thinking in mental health".
It helps us to understand such experiences better, to empathise with those who are distressed by them