Minnesota

Open Minded Online is a project of Elisabeth Svanholmer and Rufus May, two folks who were inspired to share methods of working with voices and similar experiences after they found their own experiences in traditional psychiatric treatment to be lacking. The approaches can be used by voice-hearers themselves, such as with the quick and practical Self-Help Guide to Talking With Voices, or with therapists, such as with the Engaging With Voices Videos.

Join ISPS-US member Sasha Warren for the launch of his new book Storming Bedlam. Storming Bedlam reimagines mental health care and its radical possibilities in the context of its global development under capitalism.

The human experience commonly labeled “schizophrenia” impacts all members of society in one way or another. Some experience it directly. Others witness loved ones or neighbors experiencing it. Most observe examples of it at one time or another in shared public spaces such as at bus stops and libraries. No matter the degree of contact we have with it, this state of being challenges us all as individuals and as a collective society. Is there a way we can approach this human condition with sincere compassion and respectful curiosity? Can we challenge ourselves to see first and foremost the human being having the experience and only then the behavioral expressions of the experience?

My advice to seekers--keep an open mind! The stigma, the labels, the trauma, and the disease can be erased over the course of years of hard work! It took me a lot of perseverance and a steadfast belief in my own reason, healthy eating, connection with people, retraining my trauma with successes in work and in social life and also trusting the wisdom of others who have cured themselves and been able to get off medication.

I touched my book:
it was
compact,
solid,
arched
like a white ship,
half open
like a new rose,
it was
to my eyes
a mill,
from each page
of my book
sprouted the flower of bread;
I was blinded by my own rays,
I was insufferably
self-satisfied,
my feet left the ground
and I was walking
on clouds

Did you know the Twin Cities has a local support group for people who hear voices or have other perceptual experiences?  This group is a non-judgmental and welcoming place, free of stigmatizing labels and devoid of an emphasis on symptom reduction.  In this space you can share your experiences with others who are able to listen from a place of genuine understanding.

Meetings take place each Monday at 7:00pm in the Meditation Room of the Walker Community United Methodist Church located at 3104 16th Ave S Minneapolis, MN 55407. 

All are welcome!