Chevies at U-Save, Berkeley
To: psysr-endtorture@yahoogroups.com
From: Andrew Phelps <dis_course@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 21 May 2008 08:28:15 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [psysr-endtorture] dignity work
Hi
I participated in Monday's conference call. Thanks for the opportunity.
The main discussions were regarding Hector's
Theater of the Imagination, supporting Reisner's candidacy for APA Pres., and the petition. I'm looking forward to Jill's notes.My own direct interest is in what I'd call "investment." Namely that dignity work, "Building Cultures of Peace" is the lever that will help actually change things.
Every year the "client/survivor" (they call it 'csx') movement has an Alternatives Conference funded by SAMHSA. This last year SAMHSA went over to a "trauma-informed" approach instead of the conventional 'mental illness' approach. But they also refused to use the word "torture" and they did not clearly embrace "dignity." They are just learning the implications of the change-over.
Last year, at St. Louis Alternatives 2007, I did a 3 hr. workshop on "Retraumatization and Mutual Support" which paralleled my article published in
Social Action. I enlisted the listowner of the Radical Psychology Network listserve to help; I also asked Linda Woolf (as a local person and PsySR activist) to help. We talked, but it didn't work out, so PsySR didn't get represented at the Alternatives Conference directly.This year Buffalo Alternatives 2008 (see the
website of the "client/survivor" run Technical Assistance Center running Alternatives this year) I'm putting in a proposal directly related to "Building Cultures of Peace." This is last-minute notice (the proposal is due Friday) but if somebody here has a personal interest in joining this presentation, let's discuss the matter — send me an email.
Respectfully
Andrew Phelps