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Original introduction, February, 2016.By Jessica Arenella, President, ISPS-US. February, 2016 Welcome to the ISPS-US maps on DebateGraph (www.debategraph.org). I am excited to be debuting this new platform for facilitating communication about important topics of interest to ISPS-US members and many others. This interactive online service will allow us to delve deeper into the issues as different ideas, positions, citations, resources, and comments get added to the map where they remain in a visual form. This minimizes the need for repetition and makes it easier to move forward in developing a richer understanding of the complex issues before us. When ideas are presented on the map we will be able to see more clearly what the opposing positions are and what areas are yet to be addressed. While participation is not anonymous, the presentation of the ideas on the map reduces focus on any single individual, as we work together to co-create a body of knowledge where all of the ideas can be represented. New evidence or information can be added and responded to with ease. Given that our members are spread out across the country, we have few ways to communicate with each other. Our annual meetings, generally diverse and exciting events, are infrequent and cost a lot of money. Our only other format has been the Listserve, where members respond to each other's posts. I am hoping that we will now have a new way to share our knowledge and ideas, especially on complex matters regarding the role of trauma and biology in psychological distress, various models of understanding human suffering and its alleviation, the risks, benefits and ethics of various models of understanding and intervention ISPS-US has three interconnected maps on DebateGraph, two originals and one adopted from the HDC Project. You can visit the ISPS-US maps at www.debategraph.org/ISPSUS. (As part of our website overhaul, the map will eventually be embedded on our home page.) The first map is the Resources map, which has links out to dozens (and hopefully soon to hundreds) of books, articles, webpages, apps, videos, films and other resources where people can learn about hearing voices, peer-based interventions, human-rights issue, psychoanalytic approaches, CBT, Open Dialogue, and an unlimited number of things related to emergence from extreme and unusual states. Marie Hansen, Paul Peacock and myself have already placed a number of resources on the map. Much of the information on the ISPS-US website (under articles, resources,bibliographies) is being transferred to this new more up-to-date format. New information can be added easily at any time. I am seeking a group of ISPS-US members to be the Map Resources team to regularly update the resources. The resources map can only be edited by invitation, not open to the public, but is available to read by everyone. However, suggestions for resources to be placed on the Resources map can be emailed to webeditor@isps-us.org. The second map is the Issues map, where we can create substantive narratives, link to supporting evidence, rate positions, offer counter-arguments, add points of information, etc., where it will be preserved and built upon over time. With the help of ISPS-US Member, Paul Peacock, a handful of issues that seem to come up on our listserve have been placed on the Issues map. I have filled in some positions and counterpositions, as a way of getting the conversation going and to demonstrate what a debate on DebateGraph might look like. The final map has been adopted by the Healing the Distressed Consciousness (HDC) Project. This project was created by Paul Peacock, who has been a very active DebateGraph mapper on a number of important issues, and who in recent years has turned his interest toward understanding distress and changes in perception that have commonly been known as psychiatric illness. The HDC project began as a way to better understand human distress and how to go about alleviating it. In the course of this project, the shortcomings of the current psychiatric system became apparent. This led to the latest iteration called the “Moving Forward” map, which was created to develop new approaches to healing the distressed conscious, without reference to the idea of mental illness. Paul has generously permitted ISPS-US to “adopt” this map so that it will be maintained under the ISPS-US name. The Issues and Moving Forward maps are open to anyone who registers for a Debategraph account. ISPS-US members will be encouraged to create DebateGraph accounts and to invite others to participate in the map. Everyone who has a DebateGraph account can contribute to our maps, so we will potentially interacting with others outside of our group and around the world. DebateGraph cofounder, David Price, has generously offered to provide a webinar for ISPS-US members who would like a more hands on guide to using the service. There is also plenty of information on www.debategraph.org and instructional videos on YouTube. The ISPS-US maps are currently moderated by Jessica Arenella and Paul Peacock. Anyone who is interested in becoming part of the editing team should contact me. Jessica Arenella, February, 2016.
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