Hi Sandy,
OK, I've looked at the Finnish "Open Dialogue" model, thank you, and I love it...
Did you you notice the three specific and very important differences between what they do and what we do..
1) Immediacy
2) They care a lot about MIPS and LOONS.
3) It irrefutably works.
Here are some cut and pasted excerpts to validate my points:
They also told me that they liked it that their therapists met with them immediately in their crises, and didn’t put them off for months on endless, bureaucratic waiting lists. They liked it that therapists gave them the choice of meeting in their own homes or in clinics.
They liked it that when they were in crisis they could invite their family and friends and other important people from their lives into therapy meetings
One young Finnish man, who, along with his family, sought help in an emotional crisis, shared something interesting with me after I asked him what he thought of their Open Dialogue psychiatric system. He replied, “Well, it’s kind of like the town’s water-works — they do a good job. When you turn on the faucet in your kitchen sink, you know that good, clean water comes out and you can drink it or cook with it. You trust that it will work, and that you won’t get sick from the water. It’s the same with psychiatry here — we trust them. When we have problems, we go to them. They are reliable, they care about us, and they do a good job. They help us. They make our lives better. It’s just normal. But really, we don’t think about it too much. Mostly, it’s really just like the water-works — we expect it to work, and it does.”
Must I spell it out: What happens here is that MIFS in crisis spend 5 minutes in hospital then are drugged up and literally thrown out into the community with token support. LOONS get nothing.
My family, which I still pine for after many, many years was blown apart like a hand grenade. We simply couldn't cope. We were never invited to participate. We were never investigated and nurtured as probably the best possible environment for our MIP. When we reached out for help, we got the finger!!!
Now Sandy, do you want Excerpt 4. The final and perhaps most interesting?
Lotsa love
Gray Gray.