We had the pleasure of interviewing Will Hall, one of the bright lights in the survivor-led movement that’s advocating for a change in the way mental illness is defined and treated. Will has faced his own struggles with madness and speaks to us about the alternative treatment approaches that have worked for him.
Will has trained with Jaakko Seikkula from Finland, who developed Open Dialogue, an innovative approach to acute psychiatric crises. For the last few months we have been interviewing professionals that are a part of a grassroots movement gaining traction here in America. Will gave us a human face to the Open Dialogue and Peer-to-Peer movement that we have been hearing so much about. Will, as a ‘person with lived experience’, is a testament to the effectiveness of these alternative therapies.
In two weeks we will be traveling to the East Coast to interview Mary Olson who has been instrumental in bringing Open Dialogue to the U.S. It has been very exciting to learn about this grassroots Peer-to-Peer movement and we look forward to focusing more attention on these alternatives to mental health treatment in our film.
