Skip to main content

What We Do

Advocacy

We challenge the status quo

ISPS-US’s mission is to promote psychological and social approaches to states of mind often called “psychosis,” which often means challenging the biological-reductionistic status quo of mental health care as normal. ISPS-US aims to effect systemic change, within arenas such as the mental health system, education system, media, and systems influencing public policy. Our Advocacy Committee works in partnership with our Executive Committee to advance ISPS-US’s advocacy efforts and engage our passionate membership in collective action. 

Learn more about ISPS-US Values and Principles.

Advocacy News

ISPS-US Launches Speakers Bureau to Revolutionize Mental Health Conversations

PHILADELPHIA, PA - The International Society of Psychological and Social Approaches to Psychosis - US Chapter (ISPS-US) proudly introduces the ISPS-US Speakers Bureau. The Bureau offers access to a range of experts dedicated to changing the narrative on psychosis and mental health and championing psychological and social approaches that uphold human dignity.

Our Speakers Bureau brings together a diverse group of speakers, including service providers, academics, clinicians, individuals with lived experience of psychosis, and their families. By uniting these diverse voices, we aim to create an easily accessible and comprehensive resource for the press, organizations, and event planners.

Dear ProPublica,

In response to your investigation into mental health care access, we are writing to you on behalf of ISPS-US, the US chapter of an international organization devoted to advocating for psychological and social approaches to psychosis.  While many of our members are mental health professionals and researchers, a significant proportion are people with lived experience or their family members who have embraced our organization after years and sometimes decades in the mental health system. 

Structural barriers to care pose a critical problem, but this problem is compounded by a crisis regarding the quality of the care that can be accessed. 

ISPS-US's Advocacy Committee penned the following letter in response to SAMHSA's recent Request for Information; Potential Changes to its Evidence-Based Practices Resource Center. In it, we conveyed our concerns about the re-evaluation of the Evidence-Based Practices Resource Center (EBPRC), emphasizing the need for a more inclusive, transparent approach to evidence-based practices. We highlighted biases in current treatments, emphasizing the need for transparency, the inclusion of qualitative measures, and a focus on long-term research for effective mental health treatment.

We urged SAMHSA to consider the limitations of manualized treatments and to prioritize the relationships between clinicians and clients in the pursuit of well-being-focused interventions. Furthermore, we emphasized the importance of a more inclusive approach to soliciting feedback from various stakeholders in the mental health field.

ISPS-US is the United States Chapter of the International Society for Psychological and Social Approaches to Psychosis. Our organization is unique in its inclusion of researchers, clinicians, individuals with lived experience, family members, and other stakeholders, all of whom have joined together to create a three-dimensional picture of what works in the treatment of people diagnosed with severe mental illness. We appreciate SAMHSA’s invitation to share our knowledge and experience, and do so urgently to address our significant concerns regarding certain of your agency’s current recommendations and resources

In the pursuit of justice and ethical treatment within mental health institutions, the case of Dawn Dziuba has caught the attention of individuals and organizations alike. Dawn Dziuba is currently a patient in the Forensic Treatment Center South in St. Louis, Missouri, and has been an inpatient since 2014. Dawn alleges that she is being subjected to retaliation for submitting complaints on behalf of herself and fellow patients who believe they have experienced unjust, inhumane, or illegal practices. Members from ISPS-US, led by the Advocacy Committee, have been closely monitoring Dawn's situation and actively supporting efforts to address the concerning circumstances she faces within the Missouri mental health system.

This swell of cross-organizational support has led Missouri State Representative Sarah Unsicker to write a letter, dated August 1st, to the Director of the Missouri Department of Mental Health regarding Dawn Dziuba's case, calling for an investigation. In a compelling letter, Representative Unsicker expressed her concern for Dawn's well-being, echoing the worries raised by MindFreedom International and the wider community. Representative Unsicker, an Attorney, also points out numerous legal irregularities in Dawn's case.

Interested in taking part in our advocacy efforts? If you’re not already a member, join ISPS-US.

MENU CLOSE