In the far north of Finland, a stone's throw from the Arctic Circle, a group of innovative family therapists converted the area's traditional mental health system, which once boasted some of Europe's poorest outcomes for schizophrenia, into one that now gets the best statistical results in the world for first-break psychosis. They call their approach is called Open Dialogue.

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. Pg trailer

We had an "open dialogue" after the screening including several guest who are stakeholders in this topic.

View a YouTube video or listen to a Madness Radio interview

Co-sponored by the West Coast Mental Health Network.

Further reading: Preparing the Open Dialogue Approach for Implementation in the United States from the University of Massachusetts.