Friends, Family & Carers Forum

[Flick]

@Cat64 That sounds really, really hard. Anyone in your situation would need a rest! It sounds really tiring.

One of the things I'm particularly interested in is Peer-supported Open Dialogue. In both London and New York, they are integrating peer workers into the team, partly in recognition that lots of people with emotional difficulties are isolated, don't have friends, can't work, etc. I'm sorry to hear that you're having to do so much alone - I really do wish more people had access to the supports they need. Unfortunately, I think this is quite common - that people grow more isolated as their troubles increase (when what we need is the opposite!)

[Flick]

@BeHappy. Find your peeps - I love it! It's what I'm doing too - studying Open Dialogue feels like part of that - the people I am studying with are really quite amazing, community-oriented and passionate little ants!

I'm a believer in community dialogues, any space in which we can support each other to feel less alone.

Finding your people to build support together, finding your people to create the structures we all need ... it's all part of it. The difficulty is finding your people when you're in crisis! I guess I see Open Dialogue as a way the mental health system could support people to find their people.

[Flick]

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@CherryBomb wrote:

@Flick may I ask, while you were working through feeling sucicidal, how did you discover your social networks? Where they hard to see? 

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Yeah, they were REALLY really really hard to see. I had people supporting me to keep looking! I had a counsellor who asked me to write down all the people I could call between our sessions. At first it seemed ridiculous - I was listing people I didn't think I could actually call. But over time, more connection with people led to more of a feeling that I could ask for help, and more of a clear sense of who I could actually ask.

It's actually a big part of my life still, thinking about who are my networks, who can I call on. It's not in my nature to ask for help, to be honest, so every time I do I reckon I should get a medal! 

[BeHappy]

Thanks @Flick

I guess its like what you said, its something we've always done. To an extent, I have too, but just never really looked at it like that. 

I suppose having a good social network can work to prevent a crisis or at the very least help with decreasing the impact of stressors.

Thanks so much for your time tonight @Flick @CherryBomb @Cat64 @LivingAdl and @Shaz51. Sometimes I feel like no one gets it, but tonight was a really good reminder that there are acutally people in my life that get bits of it. They may not get all of me, but its the accumulation of things that can help.

[Flick]

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@CherryBomb wrote:

Thanks for clarifying @Flick - so its like making space for everyone to have their say, to express their truth, while accepting that someone might have a different truth to our own, but it doesn't make it wrong. Is that more accurate?

I just realised we only have 25 minutes left. Now is the time to get in any final questions or thoughts for Flick so she can have enough time to repond. 

My question for you @Flick is when/can we expect to see have 'Open Dialogue' in formal settings in Australia?

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As they say "Another world is already happening" - yes, Open Dialogue is already seeding in little pockets all over the place! The Australian branch of the International Society for the Study Of Pscyhological Approaches to Psychosis (I think I haven't got their name quite right, but it's something like that, sorry!), and the Bouverie Family Therapy Centre in Melbourne have both been quite active in inviting speakers over to Australia, including a tour in 2014 by two of the most experienced Open Dialogue clinicians.

There is already talk of bringing out people so we can do the one-year abbreviated training that is being taught in New York and London.

I've heard some influential psychiatrists (like Pat McGorry and Alan Rosen) speak highly of Open Dialogue... we will see!

I do believe that the more of us who speak about what we really need and offer solutions, and not just saying what isn't working, the more likely those solutions might be taken up. That's my thinking anyway!

[Shaz51]

Thanks @Flick

and thankyou everyone @BeHappy, @CherryBomb, @Cat64, @LivingAdl, for all your input

[CherryBomb]

Fantastic! Thanks so much for tonight @Flick. You brought fresh new insights and an alternative way of approach caring for our loved ones. 

Thanks to our contributers too @LivingAdl @Cat64 @Shaz51 and @BeHappy for joining in tonight.