Afiya Peer Respite: Creating Alternatives to Hospitalization

Sunday, July 11, 2021, 10-12AM PDT

Afiya Peer Respite first opened its doors in August, 2012. It is the first peer respite in Massachusetts, and remains one of only a handful of respites of this kind across the country. The respite strives to provide space in which each person can find the balance and support needed to turn a difficult time into a learning and growth opportunity. Recently recognized in the World health Organization’s (WHO) “practice guidance document on community based mental health services promoting human rights and recovery,” Afiya consistently aims to center choice, dignity, and self-determination in all that is offered as it supports people to make meaning of their experiences and explore how they walk through the world.

This talk will focus on

• The basic components that make ‘peer respite’ what it is
• Important lessons learned as Afiya nears its first decade in existence
• Impacts and outcomes of Afiya and peer respites across the nation

Sera Davidow is the Director of the Wildflower Alliance (formerly known as the Western Mass Recovery Learning Community) which serves as home to Afiya.  She wrote the original grant proposal that helped bring Afiya into being, and has been involved through all its ups and downs ever since. Sera is also the primary author of, ‘The Peer Respite Handbook: A Guide to Understanding, Building, and Supporting Peer Respites,’ and co-produced the short film, “Afiya House,’ which serves as an educational tool on the concept of peer respites overall.

Livestreamed on zoom

See Rethinking Psychiatry’s policy on livestreamed events and confidentiality.
An event recording will be posted on our Facebook page and YouTube channel.

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For questions contact: RethinkingPsychiatry@gmail.com or message us on our Facebook Page.

Soteria Israel: A Personal & Professional Story

Sunday, June 20, 2021, 10-12 AM PDT

• How a psychiatrist and a former patient turned psychology PhD student got recognition for Soteria Houses by the Federal Health Department.
• How Israel’s Soteria Houses are similar to and different from the original Soteria.
• Challenges and successes!

Meet the presenters:

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Avraham (Avremi) Friedlander, a clinical psychologist trainee at Sheba Hospital in Israel and a doctoral student researching alternatives to psychiatric hospitalization. He began his professional career with a personal spiritual / psychotic experience, 16 years ago, which made him want to make a change in the conventional method of treatment. Together with Prof. Pesach Lichtenberg, he established the first Soteria Houses in Israel and managed the Soteria House for men in Jerusalem. In addition, he is currently a member of a number of founding teams for additional alternatives in Israel and in thinking groups for changing the therapeutic paradigm within the conventional framework.

Prof. Pesach Lichtenberg the former Head of the Department of Psychiatry at the Hebrew University, headed a closed psychiatric hospital ward for 25 years before being fired. He is the founder and professional director of Soteria Israel, a non-profit organization currently operating three Soteria homes and planning more.

Livestreamed on zoom

See Rethinking Psychiatry’s policy on livestreamed events and confidentiality.
An event recording will be posted on our Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Time converter at worldtimebuddy.com

For questions contact: RethinkingPsychiatry@gmail.com or message us on our Facebook Page.