Soteria House Conference

As no one else has fed back to the list yet I wanted to let members know about the Soteria network conference I attended on November 3rd, which was organised with the bold aim of setting the ball rolling towards opening Soteria Houses in the UK. The morning comprised a marvellous set of speakers: John Bola, on a flying visit between Korea and Stravanger, spelt out the evidence base for Soteria and comparable interventions using delayed/low- dose medication; Fiona Venner impressed everyone with her leadership of a crisis service that combines the passionate commitment of a survivor led service with hard headed business management - a master class; and Rufus May entertained and enlivened us with his disarming air of improvisation as he shared his own approach to creating a safe environment. This was a morning to die for, in the delightful setting of Victoria Hall, Saltaire, home of the enlightened philanthropic entrepreneur Titus Salt.

The afternoon got us in groups to discuss and write down our responses to five questions around how we would set up Soteria Houses in our own localities, which has left the conference organizers with the unenviable job of pulling the ideas of 100 people together. I think this was perhaps a postponement of the time when a great deal of time, energy and hard-headed work, of the kind described by Fiona, will be needed to achieve the conference's admirable and timely goal.