[OSList] Opening space with people with psychiatric disorders

Therese Fitzpatrick via OSList oslist at lists.openspacetech.org
Sun Oct 5 16:33:50 PDT 2014 

Christine Koehler, every single Open Space event that I have either
attended or facilitated has had at least one person with a psychiatric
disorder - me.  Knowing as much as I do about mental health disabilities
and how common they are, I'd be willing to be every Open Space event has
participants with manic depression (not my disability), personality
disorders, schizophrenia, bouts of psychosis, major depression, etc. I know
people in just about every Open Space I have ever participated in with such
challenges.

You don't need to do anything differently.

I just thought of OS as I walked eight miles yesterday in the unusual very
hot sun here in Berkeley. I was canvassing for a political candidate, my
body in pain as it always is when I walk (arthritis) and grumping along
silently to myself "Why am I doing this on such a hot day?" And then I
thought "Oh, that's right, I live in OS.  I don't have to be doing this. I
am making a contribution, I feel called to make this contribution."

When I met OS, the world made more sense to me than it ever had until that
point. And I have lived in OS ever since. I go to conventional meetings
with talking heads in front of a room full of people seated in rows and,
almost every time, I leave. Even when I don't leave traditional meetings, I
get up whenever I want, wander in and out of the room if I feel so moved
and I make no apologies. Once in awhile someone will ask me "You seem to
just do whatever you want" and I say "I live in Open Space, come on in, the
water is perfect always".

And then I thought of Harrison. I think his discovery of what was already
'there' was really brilliant. I was flooded with gratitude for OS, for the
freedom it gives me every moment of my life.

People with mental health disablities (I would never use the phrase
'psychiatric disabilities' -- that phrase sounds like psychiatric
professionals who, in my 10 to 12 years dealing with them, rarely seem to
really understand that people with mental health disabilities have more in
common with all humans than differences.

It is, imho, subtly negative and demeaning to assume people with mental
health disabilities, or challenges, need special care in OS.  It is a form
of bigotry that is virtually never acknowledged. You undervalue the
humanity of participants if you think people with 'psychiatric
disabilities' need special treatment in OS and you might not fully grasp
the brilliant of OS. I don't mean to be impolite. It's just that OS is safe
for this person with a mental health disability, the safest space I know of.

I am reading a book right now, "Of Water and Spirit" by an African shaman
and great writer Malidomo Patrice Some. He has since written other books.
When he first came to USA and saw what we in this country consider mental
illness, he exclaimed "In my country, when people exhibit the signs you in
the USA see as mental illness, we see someone who is beginning a passage to
become a shaman, a healer, we see such behavior as signs of special paths
in life and we facilitate them to become whatever it is they are trying to
become."  I paraphrase.

As others have already said, there is no need for special prep for persons
with mental health disabilities.

I guess if someone is in full blown psychosis, which does happen, they
might not be in an optimal energy to attend an OS. Other than a participant
who is literally unable to track reality, there is not really much
different about people with mental health challenges and people without.
Everything we humans do is culture and every aspect of culture is a human
invention, including mental health disabilities. In some cultures, what is
seen here as mental health disabilities is seen as specially gifted and
celebrated.

On Sun, Oct 5, 2014 at 1:24 PM, doug via OSList <
oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:

>  ;)
>
>  On 10/05/2014 04:08 PM, anne.bennett8ac wrote:
>
> Precisely my point Doug
>  ;-)
>
>
>  Sent from Samsung Mobile
>
>
>
> -------- Original message --------
> From: doug via OSList <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>
> <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>
> Date: 2014/10/05 19:24 (GMT+00:00)
> To: oslist at lists.openspacetech.org
> Subject: Re: [OSList] Opening space with people with psychiatric disorders
>
>
> Aren't those who work in the institutions we call organizations
> institutionalized?
>
> :- Doug. Germann
>
>
>
> On 10/05/2014 08:47 AM, Anne Bennett via OSList wrote:
> > Hi Christine
> >
> > I have worked in nominally 'mental health' areas for many years.
> > Designing a range of events for various purposes, I found a few things
> > of interest -
> >
> > 1. Practical things first - resist the 'over helping', restrain the
> > enthusiasms of the 'helpful' and minimise the special attention to those
> > perceived to have special challenges - often they don't - make general
> > arrangements for supportive/relaxed/unimposing spaces [chilled zones,
> > obvious exits]. The more 'we' think 'they' need special help, the more
> > this may become true, and equally denies the truth that 'who doesnt need
> > this help?' Although once there were 'criminally insane' prisoners in an
> > event, hand-cuffed to their forensic health care workers, their inputs
> > and engagements were as sane and probably the most relevant of any. The
> > notion of individuals making their own decisions to join/leave groups
> > and manage their own time, communication and activity is a challenge for
> > the institutionalised - how many organisations are free of such
> > behavioural effects? Your art of facilitation (calm liberation of the
> > space, gentle encouragement, presence) is the main thing to bring on the
> > day.
> >
> > 2. Subtler observations I would share:
> > -  the 'norms' (people who are 'us' not 'them') bring a looooot of
> > baggage to the thing - the psychodynamicals among us can have a field
> > day with the introjections etc etc;
> > - specifically the psychiatrically credentialled professionals have the
> > most difficulty of any specific group I have ever met (including the
> > heads of state, monks, prisoners, scientists, artists, asylum seekers
> > and homeless) to get involved at the EQ level with anyone else in the
> > room - a day or so in and a few are communicating almost like humans;
> > - mental health labels can be applied to most of us some of the time -
> > serious (in terms of lifestyle-impacting), chronic or acute psychiatric
> > disorders can mean some people have altered realities some or most of
> > the time, and/or be chemically suppressed. This brings versions of
> > contribution that add to the diverse mix that we can experience in any
> > group. The principles of OST are among the most sense-making for such
> > diversity and one is reminded anew of how universally helpful it is to
> > stay mindful of these qualities of human society.
> >
> > So I guess the intentions of your planners are nice, the time element is
> > a red herring, and the perceptions of who is 'included' and how this is
> > achieved may require something quite other than what might be going on
> > or proposed
> >
> > In friendship
> > Anne
> >
> >
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >     *From:* christine koehler via OSList
> <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>
> >     *To:* OSLIST <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>
> <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>
> >     *Sent:* Sunday, 5 October 2014, 7:18
> >     *Subject:* [OSList] Opening space with people with psychiatric
> disorders
> >
> >     Hi everyone,
> >
> >
> >     I would like to know if you have experienced an open space (circa
> >     150 people) in which people with psychiatric disorders are among the
> >     participants.
> >     How did it go ? How did you prepare it ?
> >
> >     I am asking because during pre-work of an open space, the topic came
> >     out, as one of the organizer is working with them in order to help
> >     them be included in the society as any other citizen.
> >
> >     Of course I understand the idea and I second it, but I wonder how to
> >     prepare it (and if we have enough time for that...)
> >
> >
> >     Christine
> >     --
> >
> >
> >     _______________________________________________
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> >
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-- 
Love rays,
Tree Fitzpatrick

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