IT is a refreshing and 'outside the box' approach to the way we think about and address mental wellbeing. And the concept is by no means 'crazy' at all.
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The Crazy Talks Collective has met for the first time in Port Macquarie to create an opportunity for people facing mental health challenges, to those working in the sector, to come together to talk openly about their experiences and think beyond popular medical diagnoses to develop a more compassionate understanding of why an individual feels the way they do.
Facilitated by Dr Andrew Hart and his wife Sandy, the collective hopes to create a mindful and respectful place for people to share their stories, to speak openly about the influence of power, control and abuse over mental health and the strategies individuals implement in an attempt to recover and reclaim their lives.
"It is a space to talk about ideas and alternatives and to welcome diversity," Sandy Hart said, who as a mother and social worker has drawn on her own life experiences to develop the Crazy Talks concept.
"A key part of this is enabling others to speak."
Two women anonymously but bravely shared their lived experiences with the audience, setting a powerful scene about how the social impacts, particularly those of violence and abuse, have greatly impacted on their long-term mental wellbeing.
Social justice and perspectives about mental health were the focus areas of the inaugural collective with guest speaker Dr Emma Tseris, a Sydney University lecturer on social work and policy offering insight into three important areas that require further exploration when a person's brain is medically diagnosed as being 'sick'.
Dr Tseris said the focus must shift to understanding the social context behind the causes of mental distress and with that meaningful approach, open up greater opportunities for understanding and treatment beyond being medicated.
"We need to ask why is mental illness on the increase in our society, who decides what the statistics are and who benefits from these claims?
"One clear beneficiary are the pharmaceutical companies," Dr Tseris said.
"A lot of people in our community are hurting and experiencing distress. It's important we take that distress seriously. Sometimes medical solutions are helpful but there is a lot missing from that conversation."
Experiences of violence, long-term abuse and social injustice including racism, homophobia and poverty often sit silently in the background of mental health issues and are often forgotten when a mental illness label is applied, she said.
"There is an invisibility of social determinants of mental wellbeing. It makes more sense to change the world from where experiences come from. No amount of medication can fix these issues."
Dr Andrew Hart is a clinical psychologist whose focus is on the relationship between justice and suffering.
"I invite people to consider the importance of justice in its many forms, in responding to the suffering people experience, as an inseparable component of healing," Dr Hart said.
"One of the areas of suffering that I am concerned about is the harm and injustice people can experience when they seek help. I am passionate about seeking ways with others that are kind, accepting of diversity and enable people to regain control of their own lives."
Feedback on the first collective proved the power of open discussion.
"Fear has power, policy has power, stigma has power but so do words and seeing so many people stand together and contribute to the extent they have shows how powerful survivors really are," one observer wrote.
The next Crazy Talks Collective will be held at the Port Macquarie Library on April 11 at 4.15pm.
For more visit the Crazy Talks Collective website.