Community Chat: ISPS-US Research Interests

ISPS-US’s membership is a diverse group of dynamic change-makers that includes advocates, service providers, people with lived experience, family members, and more. We know that to make change we have to work together to share and build upon our collective wealth of experience and knowledge.

Community Chat provides a chance to get to know each other better, share ideas, create action plans, and build community, in friendly and informal open meetings.

Each meeting is hosted by a member of the ISPS-US Executive Committee and/or staff. The agenda is open, meaning we can discuss any topics related to ISPS-US and its mission that may be brought up by those who attend. The host may have additional topics to offer up for questions or discussion, based on their specific areas of interest and expertise.

Description:

ISPS-US Members are invited to attend a Community Chat on the topic of Research on Sunday, April 6th at 2pm, Eastern.

Please read the below letter from the group organizers:

Dear ISPS-US Members:
The events and uncertainties of the past two months, from mass layoffs to unprecedented funding cuts, have placed incredible stress on so many. Those of us who work within academia as educators and as researchers are particularly on edge as the resources needed to continue the affirming, and often path-breaking work in which many of us are engaged have been threatened or cut. Many of us have been able to carry on because, as a result of our experiences and our work, we have acquired fortitude and resilience--and because we must.Fortitude and resilience are strengthened by support from like-minded, and compassionate others, along with opportunities to engage our minds and hearts in efforts that help make the world a better place. A small group of us have been planning, for a couple of months, to launch a research conversation and collaboration group for mutual enrichment and support - and to begin to chart a path toward the future.

We’d like to hold the first meeting on: Sunday, April 6, from 2 - 4 pm

Following is the statement of purpose created for the group.

Purpose:
We ISPS-US members are united in the understanding that it is the social conditions of our lives that most profoundly affect people’s ability to live fully and with dignity in the world. As practitioners, people with lived experience of psychosis, family members, advocates, and researchers, we are committed to broadening the understanding of person-centered, psychological and social approaches to psychosis as the primary intervention/form of treatment for psychosis. Sadly, neither key decision-makers/policymakers nor the most powerful practitioners recognize the full value of these humanistic treatments. As activists and changemakers, we seek to establish an indisputable evidence-base for the humanistic approaches and interventions that allow people who experience psychosis to re-find themselves, and reclaim/redefine their lives.

Process:
Participants will share their particular research interests, along with existing or potential future collaborators and partners within universities as well as like-minded organizations and agencies. It is our hope that identifying shared interests, budding research strategies, brainstorming possible (and new) research directions, expanding connections within ISPS-US, as well as in universities and mental health systems throughout the U.S. (and world), with an aim toward identifying viable collaborative research projects will provide such compelling evidence of efficacy and real and substantial change, that key decision-makers will accept their viability and begin to reframe and rewrite treatment protocols and understandings.

We hope you will join us!
Claire Bien
Marie Brown
Nancy Burke
Deb Bushong
Leah Giorgini
Cindy Peterson-Dana
Annie Stafford
Alice Wang