"The Five Phases of Psychosis" - a 2:38 minute film by Jim van Os

Jim van Os is a consultant psychiatrist and Professor of Psychiatric Epidemiology at Maastricht University, in The Netherlands.

I wonder, is it possible to conceive of an approach (model of madness) and response system sophisticated enough to allow us to jump straight from Phase 2 to Phase 5 in the model the film describes?

This would mean a jump straight from the 1:00 second mark to the 2:00 second mark in this film and miss as much as possible of the messy, often horrific and, arguably, mostly iatrogenic, two stages in between?

For a more detailed discussion of one possible model of madness that could support the development of a response system, here is a 15 minute film by Jim van Os - Connecting to Madness, TEDxMaastricht

Jim is a psychiatric epidemiologist and has co-authored 198 journal articles since 2013 according to Google Scholar.

He most recent work is published in a leading Dutch newspaper this week, co-authored by other leaders of Dutch psychiatric organisations. In this Click hear, outlining the case that schizophrenia does not exist at http://www.nrc.nl/handelsblad/van/2015/maart/07/laten-we-de-diagnose-schizofrenie-vergeten-1472619 (download and use Google Chrome for instant translation).

Part of this opinion has translated for us by Margreet de Pater, who wrote:

Their declaration includes 12 points

1. There is no clear difference between psychotic and other human experiences.
2. 15 % of adolescents have psychotic experiences and 80% of these disappears during development.
3. 3.5 % of people have psychotic experiences that need help, their diagnosis is psychosis susceptibility syndrome, which is different for every person.
4. 20 % of these people have an unfavorable prognosis.[with the right help people with psychosis do bounce back]
5. A psychotic experience is often a reaction on trauma, a life event, disappointment, discrimination or humiliation. The thesis that it is a symptom of an underlying brain disease is scientifically not correct, and leads to a negative view [expectation] of recovery.
6. Everyone has his own special mix of psychotic symptoms, the classifications which psychiatry makes in schizo- family of diagnoses etc. is incorrect. [But everyone has a different mix of symptoms, and does not fit well in a diagnostic box.
7. People with psychotic experiences need hope and a perspective. Recovery is a mental process. People need to cope with their psychosis susceptibility with help of a schooled person with lived experience and if necessary of a doctor and a therapist
8. (These services should be there) From the very first moment
9. Going back to own environment, work and school is most important also when there are still some symptoms, waiting for complete cure is counterproductive.
10. Everyone with psychotic symptoms must be invited to talk about it, the theme of the psychosis is the key to underlying problems
11. Everybody with psychotic experience must be offered psychotherapy
12. Sometimes anti-psychotic medicines can be useful when experiences are too overwhelming, but they don´t cure.

They conclude that: Schizophrenia fortunately does not exist, psychosis does and is treatable

Best Wishes
Philip Benjamin
MHN BEd MMind&Soc
Chair, ISPS Australia

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My source:
NURSE-PHILOSOPHY & PSYCHIATRIC-NURSING at JISCMAIL.AC.UK