ISPS: the International Society for Psychological and Social Approaches to Psychosis

The International Society for Psychological and Social Approaches to Psychosis (ISPS) is a global organisation of clinicians, researchers, family members, and people with lived experience of psychosis. Founded in 1956 in Switzerland, it has grown into a network with roughly 20 national chapters and a quarterly peer-reviewed journal. ISPS is not a peer-led organisation in the same sense as the Hearing Voices Network, but it is one of the most consistent professional voices for treating psychological and social approaches to psychosis as central, not optional.

Origins

ISPS was originally founded as the International Symposium for the Psychotherapy of Schizophrenia at a 1956 meeting in Zurich, organised by Swiss and German psychiatrists who believed that psychotherapy had a meaningful role to play in psychosis — a controversial claim at a time when the first generation of antipsychotics was reshaping the field. The society was renamed in 2000 to reflect a broader scope including family work, social interventions, and crisis alternatives.

What it stands for

ISPS does not reject biomedical psychiatry, but it consistently argues that:

• Psychological therapies — including CBT for psychosis, psychodynamic approaches, and trauma-focused work — should be routinely available, not rationed.
• Family interventions reduce relapse rates and improve outcomes; the evidence base is strong and the implementation is weak.
• Social context matters. Trauma, poverty, racism, and migration shape who develops psychosis and how it unfolds.
• People with lived experience belong in research, training, and policy. ISPS national chapters typically include service users as full members.
• Coercion should be minimised. Approaches like Open Dialogue and Soteria houses are taken seriously as legitimate alternatives.

National chapters

ISPS has chapters in countries including the United Kingdom, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Germany, Greece, Australia, and Japan. Each chapter operates somewhat independently, organising local conferences, training events, and reading groups. ISPS-US is particularly active in promoting psychological treatments and peer involvement in American psychiatry.

The journal and book series

ISPS publishes the journal Psychosis: Psychological, Social and Integrative Approaches (Taylor & Francis), which prints peer-reviewed research on therapies, lived experience, and service models. It also runs a Routledge book series with more than 30 titles to date, including foundational works on Open Dialogue, family interventions, and cognitive therapy for psychosis. Many of the field's best-known authors — including John Read, Anne Cooke, Brian Martindale, and Andrew Moskowitz — have published with ISPS.

The international congress

Every two to three years, ISPS holds an international congress, drawing 500–1500 attendees. The congresses are unusual in that service users and family members typically attend on the same footing as clinicians and researchers. Recent congresses have been held in Liverpool, Madrid, Rotterdam, and online during the pandemic. The next congresses are listed on the ISPS website.

What ISPS chapters offer locally

Depending on the country, a national ISPS chapter may run:

• Reading and discussion groups (often on Zoom)
• CBTp and family work training
• Open Dialogue training and peer learning groups
• Annual or biennial national conferences
• Public statements on national mental health policy
• Reduced membership rates for service users and trainees

Notable positions

ISPS has been one of the more vocal professional bodies on issues like the trauma-psychosis link. The 2014 review Models of Madness, edited by ISPS members John Read and Jacqui Dillon, argued that biological models of schizophrenia have been overstated relative to the evidence and that psychosocial factors — particularly childhood adversity — are too often pushed to the margins. The position remains contested within psychiatry, but the empirical foundation for the trauma-psychosis link has only strengthened in the years since, including in large epidemiological studies.

How ISPS differs from other peer organisations

Unlike HVN or NEC, ISPS is primarily a professional society with strong service user involvement, rather than a peer-led organisation in the strict sense. Its members are mostly clinicians, researchers, and trainees, with people with lived experience as active participants and, increasingly, as authors and presenters. This makes ISPS a useful bridge between the peer movement and mainstream mental health research and practice.

Joining or engaging

• Visit isps.org to find your national chapter.
• Subscribe to the journal Psychosis through your library or directly.
• Attend a chapter reading group or congress (most welcome non-members).
• For US readers, ispsus.org lists local events and training opportunities.

Why it matters

The everyday experience of many people with schizophrenia in high-income countries is that medication is offered quickly, and psychotherapy and family work are offered slowly, partially, or not at all — even though guidelines like NICE CG178 in the UK and the APA's schizophrenia guideline in the US recommend them. ISPS is one of the consistent professional voices calling out that gap and offering training, evidence, and community to clinicians who want to close it.

For related reading, see our guides on the CBTp evidence base, Open Dialogue, family psychoeducation, and trauma-informed care.

This article is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified mental health professional. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 in the US, or your local emergency number.