This 74-minute film – a 3 minute trailer is also available – looks at the Open Dialogue Project as developed in Finland by Prof. Jaakko Seikkula
The film’s maker, Daniel Mackler, says this project is presently [as of 2010 when the film was made] getting the best results in the developed world for first episode psychosis – approximately 85% full recovery, and a big majority off antipsychotic medication. He writes:
“Their principles, though radical in this day and age of multi-drug cocktails and involuntary hospitalizations, are surprisingly simple. They meet clients in crisis immediately and often daily until the crises are resolved. They avoid hospitalization and its consequential stigma, preferring to meet in the homes of those seeking their services. And, perhaps most controversially, they avoid the use of anti-psychotic medication wherever possible.
They also work in groups, because they view psychosis as a problem involving relationships. They include in the treatment process the families and social networks of those seeking their help, and their clinicians work in teams, not as isolated, sole practitioners. Additionally, their whole approach values of the voice of everyone in the process, most especially the person directly in crisis. And finally, they provide their services, which operate within the context of Finnish socialized medicine, for free.”
Go here for more information, to buy the film on DVD or watch a 3 minute trailer.
