PLUS Perth had sunshine for the annual visit of an American university professor who was giving a course about mental health and feelings of distress.
The discussion and lecture was at 2 High Street last Tuesday and attracted its best crowd yet, with over 60 people attending.
Community psychiatrist Daniel B Fisher MD, PhD from Cambridge, Massachusetts spoke about his own recovery from schizophrenia.
Following his recovery, Dan obtained an MD through George Washington Medical School, and carried out his residency in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
Dan was a member of the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, and was a professor at UMass Department of Psychiatry. He is one of the developers and trainers of ‘Emotional CPR’.
He published a book about his journey of recovery and of the peer recovery movement called ‘Heartbeats of Hope’.
PLUS, a Perth and Kinross social movement which campaigns for better responses to people in distress, organised and hosted the event.
Susan Scott, PLUS manager, said: “I was pleased to hear Dan say that people’s difficulties couldn’t just be put down to ‘chemicals’, and how relationships were key to building our lives.
“Also that the power imbalances in the mental health system meant that people still have very little influence and say in matters that affect them.
“There was strong agreement from the audience on that comment.
“Tuesday’s event was also an attempt to bring health and social care and NHS top brass to the table for some honest and open discussion, but this was unsuccessful as none came.
“As Dan said, and many of us agree, there are good alternatives to the system which often does more damage than good, and that being believed in is one of the most powerful forces for good.”
PLUS first came across Dan 10 years ago in a Scottish Government event in Edinburgh and have been trailblazing alternatives to medical approaches like emotional CPR since then.
Perth is the birthplace of emotional CPR in Scotland, which has spread in pockets across the country.
Dan has been returning annually to Perth from the USA to run workshops in emotional CPR and train more trainers in Scotland.
Councillor Andrew Parrott, who was among the audience, said: “One couldn’t help but feel the real engagement between the audience and the speaker.
“Dr Fisher was testament that people can – and do – recover, and a diagnosis of something such as schizophrenia is not always a lifelong condition.
“I learned some new things, perhaps challenging preconceived ideas I already had about mental health issues.
“I found the talk very interesting and was pleased to have set aside the time to be with members of the public who were there also with a genuine interest.
“Many of the audience said that they were inspired and they would like to learn more about emotional CPR and take part in the workshops.”
