Madness Radio

Can the breakdown of psychosis show the way forward to spiritual breakthrough? Is there a path through the depths of mental health crisis independent of hospitals, doctors, and therapists? Adrian Bernard was labeled a chronic schizophrenic and spent 20 years living on a disability check. After surviving a spiritual ordeal tested by God he is today manager at the Second Story hospital alternative in Santa Cruz California, where listening, community, art and music help people like Adrian make their way back from madness. http://www.santacruz.com/news/busting_the_mental_illness_myths.html https://www.facebook.com/2ndStoryRespite/ www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtjP2nn6Nss www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7_q3F5bNyk www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctoziyxsZwE&authuser=0 www.psychosissummit.com/copy-of-charles-heriot-maitlandThe post Second Story Hospital Alternative | Adrian Bernard | Madness Radio first appeared on Madness Radio.

Has modern psychiatry lost its soul? How can dreams, storytelling, and imagination help people in emotional crisis – including psychosis and madness? What lessons can we learn from shamanism, the placebo effect, and the importance of the doctor’s “bedside manner”? George Mecouch MD, psychiatrist, Jungian therapist trained in Process Work, and author of While Psychiatry Slept: Reawakening the Imagination in Therapy, discusses how to recover the lost art of healing in an era dominated by technology. transcript http://www.bellysongpress.com/while-psychiatry-slept/ https://www.drgeorgemecouch.com/ Jung’s LamentThe post Jungian Therapy for Psychosis | George Mecouch | Madness Radio first appeared on Madness Radio.

How is psychotherapy different when the therapist is also a survivor? What vital lessons must therapists learn from people who have experienced psychosis? If therapy is an imbalance of power between therapist and patient, how can therapists avoid the misuse of power and protect clients from harm? Olga Runciman, voice hearer, psychiatric nurse in locked wards, and survivor of a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia, brings her experience with recovery to her work as a psychotherapist in private practice. http://psycovery.com https://www.madinamerica.com/author/orunciman/The post Compassionate Psychotherapy | Olga Runciman | Madness Radio first appeared on Madness Radio.

What does healthcare become when science is limited by a mechanistic, machine view of reality? How does a mechanistic view shape concepts of mental health and illness – and deny the fundamental aliveness of human beings? What does the study of living systems teach us for creating a different, more holistic vision? Fritjof Capra, theoretical physicist, systems theorist, and author of several international bestselling books including The Tao of Physics, The Web of Life, and most recently The Systems View of Life (co-authored with Pier Luigi Luisi), discusses a shift in scientific consciousness with far reaching implications for our understanding of mind and mental illness. www.fritjofcapra.net www.capracourse.net Photo: Basso CannarsaThe post Systems View of Life | Fritjof Capra | Madness Radio first appeared on Madness Radio.

Does a diet without animal products improve mental health? Why can changing to plant based nutrition be so hard to sustain? And are people’s food ethics a symptom of eating disorder or neglected self care? Sabrina Louise, a vegan educator, consultant at Portland Community College, and ecstatic dance DJ, discusses how to transition away from eating animal products while avoiding common mistakes that can undermine health. www.rethinkingpsychiatry.org/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3662288/ www.instagram.com/savvyfoodsolutions/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega-3_fatty_acid https://minimalistbaker.com/The post Sane Vegan Transition | Sabrina Louise | Madness Radio first appeared on Madness Radio.

How can people come off psychiatric medications in the safest way? What are the key lessons and vital ingredients for leaving psychiatric care? Is there life after meds? Laura Delano spent 14 years as a psychiatric patient before she left behind her psychiatric diagnoses and reclaimed herself. Today she is Director of the Inner Compass Initiative and The Withdrawal Project, working to support drug withdrawal and build community beyond the mental health system. www.theinnercompass.org withdrawal.theinnercompass.org https://bit.ly/2ISZuzh withdrawal.theinnercompass.org/preparewithdrawal theinnercompass.org/page/twp-connectThe post Life After Psych Meds | Laura Delano | Madness Radio first appeared on Madness Radio.

What’s it like to be a teenager in a psychiatric hospital? What’s it like to be a queer pregnant teenager? And is it true that friends do make the best medicine? Nina Packebush explores these questions and more in her groundbreaking debut young adult novel, Girls Like Me. Girls Like Me is an In the Margins 2018 recommended book and a Lambda Literary Finalist.  Nina is a queer-identified, grown-up teen mom, writer, zine maker, and mental health advocate – as well as Madness Radio Producer. www.ninapackebush.com www.wehaveraisedpresidents.orgThe post Queer Teen Pregnancy | Nina Packebush | Madness Radio first appeared on Madness Radio.

Is psychosis a journey and a breakthrough to somewhere more authentic? Should unhappy people be made to adjust to a mad society? Scottish psychiatrist R.D. Laing was a fierce critic of the mental health system, and saw madness as a rational adaptation to irrational family and social constraints. Laing’s compelling prose, acute intellect, and spiritual insight made a huge cultural impact worldwide, shaping the psychiatric survivor movement and calling to overturn social conventions during the U.S. war in Vietnam and the revolutionary 1960s. How are Laing’s provocative insights about politics and culture still relevant today? Michael Guy Thompson, a psychoanalyst and founder of the Gnosis Retreat Center, worked with R.D. Laing in London and has created hospital alternative sanctuaries for people struggling with experiences called psychosis. He directs the annual R.D. Laing in the 21st Century Symposium at Esalen Institute. www.gnosisretreatcenter.org www.michaelguythompson.com www.rdlaingsymposium.com The post Legacy of R.D. Laing | Michael Guy Thompson | Madness Radio first appeared on Madness Radio.

Is madness breakdown or initiation into a spiritual calling? Crazywise is a documentary film that explores the meaning of psychosis from the perspective of traditional cultures and shamanism, following the stories of people struggling with extreme states, spiritual awakening, and the mental health system’s failures. Filmmaker Phil Borges is an award winning photographer and filmmaker whose work has appeared on National Geographic and Discover. www.crazywisefilm.comThe post Crazywise Film | Phil Borges | Madness Radio first appeared on Madness Radio.

How can seeing visions and hearing voices be transformed into a spiritual gift for healing? What does the initiation ordeal into becoming a shaman involve? Gogo Ekhaya Esima was diagnosed with psychosis and confined in psychiatric hospitals before she became an initiated Sangoma healer in the Zulu tradition of South Africa. Today she is a certified Peer Recovery Specialist in mental health, a trauma survivor, and a spiritual teacher and was recently featured in the film Crazywise. www.sangomahealing.comThe post Traditional South African Healing | Gogo Ekhaya Esima | Madness Radio first appeared on Madness Radio.