I thought I heard my name... Destigmatizing psychosis
Course Description
Have you ever heard your name being called, only to find no one when you turned around? Us too! People with psychosis sometimes hear or see things that others don’t and their experiences, like ours, exist on a spectrum. This course aims to identify and correct misconceptions present in society (and, yes, present in health providers too!) about psychosis, and to provide a more holistic understanding of this diagnosis.
We will learn how trauma, stress, internalized stigma, culture, policing, involuntary hospitalizations and other factors interact with psychosis. Current models of care, including coordinated specialty care and recovery-oriented treatment, will be discussed. Further, guest speakers with lived experience of psychosis will be invited who can depict, more accurately than Hollywood, what a day in the life of someone with psychosis might look like. Ultimately, this course will give you the tools necessary to catch misconceptions in the wild, challenge what you hear, and change the narrative.
All students in this class will work on a project to develop materials/find avenues to destigmatize psychosis. Students generate an idea that they then present to the rest of the class, instructors, and guests with lived experience, in a mid-quarter Brainstorming Session. They are provided with guidance and feedback to help strengthen their projects. Then, they go out and execute the project and present on its results during the final class. Examples of previous final projects have included: a) having a conversation with family/friends about psychosis; b) presenting to a variety of audiences including campus sororities, high school classes, attorneys; c) creating board and video games that are psycho-educational; d) exploring overt and subtle biases in ChatGPT and creating chatbots based on lived experience voices. We strongly encourage students to blend their academic interests (e.g., computer science, law, medicine, etc.) with their new understandings about psychosis to make these final projects exciting to them!
Meet the Instructors: Olivia Altamirano and Sripriya Chari
Olivia Altamirano
“I became interested in psychosis a decade ago and was disheartened that my enthusiasm was met with comments including 'Aren’t you scared?' and 'Why do you want to work there (inpatient facility)?' I was further disappointed to learn that the treatments available often overlooked important cultural considerations that may impact diagnosis andtreatment. These interests led to research conducted in the US and Mexico on topics including duration of untreated psychosis, acculturation and language, and police involvement in involuntary hospitalizations. My career thus far has sought to integrate cultural conceptualizations of psychosis and to engender change towards a less stigmatizing and more inclusive approach to care.”
Sripriya Chari
“I was volunteering at a halfway house for people with psychosis when I came across a woman who was the same age as me, and had a similar life story and interests as me. We spent a lot of time talking about things we enjoyed. One morning, I came in to find her very upset, and she screamed at me and accused me of stealing her nose. A couple of days later, we were back to talking about books we had read or places we had visited. I was fascinated, and that brought me back to graduate school to learn more about psychosis. My journey has taken me through learning to identify early signs of risk for psychosis through helping people deal with the distress that comes from not being sure about their reality. I am passionate about spreading a message of hope for people who experience psychosis. I am a Licensed Clinical Psychologist at the INSPIRE and PTSD Clinics at Stanford.”
Of related interest
