A Forum for Survivors of Trauma, Friends, Family and Community Members with Ron Unger
| what |
|
|---|---|
| when | Dec 11, 2006 from 09:00 PM to 11:30 PM |
| where | Gerlinger Lounge, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA |
| contact name | Elaine Walters |
| contact phone | 541-556-6710 |
| add event to calendar | vCal iCal |
When bad things happen to people it’s normal to be off balance and to have difficult emotions. But when people get really upset, professionals sometimes label their difficulties as “symptoms” of a particular “mental illness.” What effect does it have on people when their mental and emotional reactions are defined as an illness? How does it interfere with healing after trauma? What are alternative ways of understanding severe mental and emotional distress that could truly facilitate healing for individuals and for our community?
This interactive forum is the second in a series of three intended to bring together those of us most impacted by violence and trauma – survivors, friends and family, and caregivers – to listen, and to learn what hurts, what helps, and how we can promote and support healing.
Ron Unger LCSW is a mental health counselor and a leading advocate for reform in the mental health system. He introduced Lane County to a psychological way of working with problems labeled “psychotic” which have usually been addressed only with medications. He has presented on topics such as the relationship between trauma and all kinds of “mental illness,” the delusions of the mental health system, the possibility of full recovery, and the role of peer support. Ron is himself a survivor of trauma and has many family members who have been caught up in the mental health system.
[This event is not sponsored by MindFreedom; Ron Unger is a long-time activist with MindFreedom Lane County Oregon.]