“Incredibly inspiring” was the way 15 Psychotic Disorders Program staff described their recent trip to Boston for the April 14–15 conference “From Innovations to Practice: The Promise and Challenge of Achieving Recovery for All.”

Ina Winkelmann, the acting clinical-administrative chief for the Psychosis Hospitalization Unit, explains, “The conference revolved around the topics of hope, recovery and best practice in psychiatry. It was highly appreciated by the staff and allowed us to strengthen our ties as a team. “We learned the latest information on recovery-based concepts, such as the fact that people do recover from mental illness, the importance of peer support programs, and the need for shared decision-making. The conference also reinforced the understanding that recovery involves addressing the whole person, and the idea that services and practices must shift from being ‘patient-centered’ and expert-led to being ‘personcentered’ and collaborative.”

Since their return, the Psychotic Disorders Program team has integrated concepts covered at the conference into their work on Burgess 1 and throughout their program. For instance they have adopted William A. Anthony’s challenge to “make recovery not only a vision, but a reality” for all patients who pass through the Psychotic Disorders Program on their journey to recovery.

About the conference

This conference was organized by the Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. Over 900 registrants poured in from six continents to hear a number of prominent speakers, including the Centre’s executive director, William A. Anthony, PhD, its director of training, Marianne Farkas, ScD, and Patricia Deegan, PhD, who is a psychiatric survivor and activist in the patients' rights movement. Each of these professionals has inspired Psychotic Disorders Program staff over the years.

Douglas researcher Myra Piat, PhD, who is gaining recognition for her research in the area of recovery, explains, “This conference showcased the fact that recovery is happening worldwide, and presented examples of how it is being implemented. For the Douglas, this provides added impetus as we move ahead in implementing our own recovery-based services.”