Jaakko Seikkula Speaks on Finnish Open Dialogue, Social Networks, and Recovery from Psychosis

Here I interview Jaakko Seikkula, PhD, a professor of psychotherapy at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland who is best known for his work with Finnish Open Dialogue. He speaks about the value of engaging social networks in crisis situations, the development of the Finnish Open Dialogue approach, the idea that there is meaning behind psychosis, and some unexpected benefits in Western Lapland of including family members in therapy with people experiencing psychosis.

For more on Open Dialogue, see:

http://psychrights.org/research/Digest/Effective/fiveyarocpsychotherapyresear...

www.iraresoul.com/dvd3.html

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• Jaakko
• Seikkula
• Finnish
• Open
• Dialogue
• psychosis
• recovery
• schizophrenia
• therapy
• Finland
• healing
• psychotic
• psychiatry
• alternative
• alternatives
• social
• networks
• psychotherapy
• Western
• Lapland

[jglammi]

Children who are diagnosed with schizophrenia or a number of other psychoses go on to experience a progressively greater than normal loss of gray matter in the frontal lobe region of the brain, new research suggests.

[dmackler58]

@jglammi first, i'd be curious to see this research, and second, i'd put money on it that this supposed "loss of gray matter" comes from the medications that are being prescribed for the so-called problem... it's well known that neuroleptics cause brain shrinkage in monkeys.

[jglammi]

If they are really psychotic, I do not believe that they are really achieving a change.

ALL of us could have a psychotic problems?? I do not know a professional who believes this. John Lammi Ph.D. psychologist

[dmackler58]

@jglammi Thank you for your comment, John.  Sadly, however, it reflects the education and experience of most mental health professionals in the USA and the Western world in general -- that psychosis is a lifelong, incurable condition. This is far from the truth, and there is no lack of evidence (both quantitative and qualitative) to show it. If you are interested, a great starting place to see the quantitative evidence is Robert Whitaker's book Anatomy of an Epidemic.

[dmackler58]

@jglammi As for all of us having the potential to become psychotic, anyone who stays awake for four or five days becomes psychotic...that's probably the simplest way to get there. there are lots of others -- not that i'd recommend any! all the best to you, and thanks again for commenting -- Daniel.

[jglammi]

"Adolescents also experience an above-average spike in the amount of so-called "cerebrospinal fluid" found in the same location, according to a report published in the January issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry."

In turn, children who experience these brain developments appear to face an increased risk for longer hospitalization, more severe illness and a poorer overall prognosis, the authors of the study noted.

[shadeofteal]

@jglammi Now, let's say you're right, and there is a small group of "schizophrenics" who match a specific set of criteria (what set, specifically?), who won't recover. Does that, in your opinion, justify the immediate drugging of every labelled person with recovery-preventing, brain-damaging drugs, and does it justify that every labelled person is told they can't recover, and have to stay on these drugs for life? How is that to be ethical?

[shadeofteal]

@jglammi If this was true, Open Dialogue would not work. Strangely, it does work. Of course people "relapse" when the "meds" are reduced too much. The "meds" alter brain functioning, and cause withdrawal symptoms if reduced "too much". They also cause brain shrinkage, "deterioration", which is what the scans show. Cf. Andreasen et al., 2011.

[jglammi]

@jglammi There is a text mix-up in the above section.sorry

[jglammi]

Th renowned researcher and author on bipolar disorders, Kay Redfield Jamison, speaks about her own episodes with manic psychosis, and she functions well when she is not in one of those episodes.

[jglammi]

@dmackler58 Well, brief psychotic episodes can end. I do agree with that. Psychosis in people with bipolar mania can end, too. The renowned researcher and author on bipolar conditions, Kay I did work with schizophrenics for 25 years, and if they fit a specific set of criteria for schizophrenia, they never became "normal" although with meds a small fraction did seem almost normal but regressed when the meds were reduced too much. Their brain scans, of course, show deterioration.

[jglammi]

@dmackler58 Well yes. You are right. I spoke too quickly. My professor in the field of sleep, Bill Dement MD, Ph.D. at Stanford ( he discovered REM sleep in the cat and he coined the term REM sleep) spoke of how he became paranoid if he stayed awake too long doing research early in his career. That would be one example.