Mad in America

Frequently, clinical models of mental health support involve telling people their thoughts, feelings, and experiences are "wrong" or "pathological"—and then telling them what to do to "fix" it. Unfortunately, this often creates conditions for iatrogenic harm, extreme power differentials, and coercion.

So what else is out there? Join the conversation about how approaches developed in peer-run communities, mutual aid groups, drug user's unions, and so on can be applied with integrity in a wide variety of settings (including in our own families).

In this webinar, presenter Caroline Mazel-Carlton from the Wildflower Alliance will explore alternative harm reduction dialogue philosophies and how to use them in real-life, whether we are supporting someone who uses drugs, hears voices, is thinking of suicide, etc. We will discuss how to avoid common dialogue pitfalls that rupture connections and cause further pain. We will also talk about how to build authenticity back into conversations and let go of unhelpful agendas and jargon.