My new article is about the revolutionary work of John Weir Perry, the leading Jungian in the area of compassionate treatment of extreme states. I completed the follow-up research on his Diabasis House. It was a medication-free program for young adults going through extreme states/psychosis. We were close friends and colleagues for many years, until John’s death in 1998.
Hi All,
Here’s my article for the Journal of Humanistic Psychology Special Edition on Extreme States. In it, I draw on my personal experience of extreme states over 50 years ago, and also of attempting, as a caregiver, to compassionately be present with people in extreme states for almost 40 years.
Best wishes,
Michael
A memory here from a few years ago when my friend Will Hall interviewed me about extreme states for his groundbreaking radio program, Madness Radio.
Michael
What if people struggling with madness could explore their emotions in a supportive sanctuary? Do frightening ‘psychotic’ experiences have the power to transform and heal? Is breakdown also breakthrough? Michael Cornwall became a therapist after surviving his own crisis — without medication or psychiatric treatment. For more than 30 years he has worked in the tradition of Carl Jung and R.D. Laing to support people to go through psychotic states in medication-free community settings, including John Weir Perry’s Diabasis House in the 1970s.
Listen to the interview here.
Michael Cornwall, Ph.D. 