Foundation for Excellence in Mental Health Care

The collective "WE" need to concentrate on early intervention, effective treatment and diverting incarceration. This project will bring new methodologies to an old, tired system. These two models support true wellness, getting one's life back on track without the stigma of a psychiatric diagnosis and a lifetime on medication. Open Dialogue and  the Hearing Voices Network will improve workforce satisfaction in addition to providing person-centered trauma informed care. People with lived experience will be more satisfied because they are being listened to and are instrumental in creating a safe space to work through their trauma and mental health challenges. Workforce satisfaction will improve because providers will witness people getting their lives back in a very nurturing way which is very different from the medical model of forced treatment, very little informed consent and chronic unresolved need. Mental Health care has been experiencing a workforce shortage. One reason for this is the lack of job satisfaction. People enter the MH field with a desire to help others; they find instead a model of coercion, forced treatment that results in “chronically disabled patients”, high caseloads and never ending paperwork demands tied to billing and rules and boundaries to enforce a “patient/provider” distinction. This has created barriers that actually prevent wellness. The true human connection that we all yearn for must be brought back to the center. Open Dialogue and HVN both embrace these human values and everyone benefits, the person in distress, their family members and the providers.