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Madness in the System: Knowing the Past, Shaping the Future: History and the Making of Public Policy

2009-03-06T20:23:00Z

Thursday 2nd April 2009, 7.00pm: Madness in the System: Knowing the Past, Shaping the Future: History and the Making of Public Policy, Bishopsgate Institute, 230 Bishopsgate, London.

Why has consensus on the mental health law been so difficult to reach over the last 25 years? What is the purpose of mental health law today? To what extent does it protect or compromise people's rights? In what ways are historical understandings of mental illness and mental health being redefined today? What has been lost and gained in the replacement of the asylum with hospital and community care?

'Madness In the System' brings together historians with mental health policy makers, regulators and monitors, psychotherapists, and mental health service users to talk about mental health in the system, past and present.

You are warmly invited to join in the discussion with us; do encourage others whom you think might be interested. The event is free, and places can be reserved in advance or will be available on the door. Please call the Bishopsgate Institute booking line on 020 7392 922

Speakers include: Peter Bartlett (historian and Professor of Law, Nottingham), Felicity Callard (historian, King's College, London), Peter Campbell (mental health activist), David Crepaz-Keay (Mental Health Foundation), Anthony Deery (Healthcare Commission), Kate Hodgkin (historian, RSHC), Begum Maitra (child and adolescent psychiatrist). This event is organised by the Raphael Samuel History Centre (University of East London/Birkbeck College/Bishopsgate Institute www.raphael-samuel.org.uk ), in partnership with History & Policy (www.historyandpolicy.org).

For further details email k.pettit@uel.ac.uk

Hearing Voices Network in England (HVN): National Consultation Plan

2009-03-05T21:53:00Z

Hearing Voices Network

National Consultation Plan

Background:

The national Hearing Voices Network in England (HVN) has been established for almost 20 years and became a registered charity in 2002. Although HVN has existed on limited funding with a small team of paid staff and volunteers, the organisation has achieved much throughout this time. We have:

Established and supported 182 Hearing Voices Groups across England. Groups run mainly within the community but also within statutory and voluntary sector services including acute settings, prisons and secure settings and a number of specialist groups for women, BME people and young people have also been established.
Supported hearing voices group facilitators and local network development.
Provided individual and group membership and developed an individual and group membership database.
Published a quarterly newsletter.
Published a range of publications.
Provided training, conferences and events to 100’s of participants.
Provided information and support to voice hearers, family members, mental health professionals and researchers via a telephone information line and email.
Provided a confidential help line for voice hearers.
Provided a web site.
Developed strong links with international networks and become an active member of Intervoice.
Supported on-going research into hearing voices and allied subjects.
Liaised with the media which has resulted in a number of positive broadcasts and publications about HVN and voice hearing both nationally and internationally.
Supported several people to safely end reliance on statutory services.
Contributed to the collection of evidence that shows the successes of voice hearers outside statutory mental health services.
Raised awareness of the benefits of talking about voices, the value of peer support and promoted this innovative approach to voice hearers, family members and mental health professionals.

As a consequence, Hearing Voices Groups and the ‘Hearing Voices Approach’ have now become more common place and more accepted within mainstream mental health services. A recent Healthcare Commission report, ‘The Pathway to Recovery: A review of NHS acute inpatient mental health services (2008), commended mental health trusts which provided hearing voices groups as offering ‘appropriate and safe interventions’ in acute settings.

2. The Need for the organisation to change:

Many of the developments listed above have occurred organically. As a consequence they have happened unevenly across the country. Some areas have a well developed network with several groups and support and training in place for facilitators, while other areas have few or no groups.

The need to obtain funding, with limited capacity to do so, has held back the development of longer term thinking and, as a result, the organisation has tended to be led by circumstances and opportunities as they arise rather than pursuing it’s own agenda.

This has meant that little time has been devoted to developing the infrastructure of the organisation or in constructing a strategic vision and a financially sustainable long term development plan.

Also, HVN has become over reliant on short term grant funding from charitable Trusts at a time when charities can no longer be confident in their reliance on this as a sole source of income. Therefore, there is now a need for us to work towards creating more sustainable sources of funds.

This has led led Trustees to conclude that now is an opportune time to step back and:

Review HVN’s achievements.
Revisit HVN’s aims and objectives.
Re-vision HVN to enable it to become a sustainable and more effective organisation.

As a result we have decided to undertake a national consultation process with all of our primary and secondary stakeholders to get feedback on what services they want from the organisation and to ascertain their views on the future of the Hearing Voices Network.

3. Current aims and objectives of the Hearing Voices Network:

The aims of HVN are:

To raise awareness of voice hearing, visions, tactile sensations and other sensory experiences
To give men, women and children who have these experiences an opportunity to talk freely about this together.
To support anyone with these experiences seeking to understand, learn and grow from them in their own way.

HVN has sought to achieve its aims through these activities:

Promoting, developing and supporting self-help groups
Organising and delivering training sessions for health workers and the general public
Making available a telephone line that gives information and help to people who experience hearing voices, seeing visions and tactile sensations
Providing men, women and children who have these experiences an opportunity to talk freely about them
Producing four newsletters a year

Question: What do you think about our aims and current activities?

To what extent do you think have we achieved our aims?

Describe what you think we need to do to improve the extent to which we meet them.

Are the activities outlined above still the most useful way for us to realise our aims?

Do you think we need to change our aims, or add new ones?

What services that we currently provide do you consider to be essential?

4. New strategic plan: Hearing Voices Network - Outline Organisational Vision

HVN trustees have considered the most effective ways for the organisation to achieve its aims with the limited resources available and have come up with the following thoughts on the best way forward.

The kinds of work that we envisage HVN will/could/should be doing in the coming years are outlined below.

i) Training

Income generating (other than grant funding)

Provision of training for professionals on how to facilitate a hearing voices group
HVN branded and accredited (and later accredited by external educational organisations) training on Hearing voices and a range of clearly related areas
Bespoke training
Initially delivered through existing network of voice hearer trainers and later delivered by an expanded network of voice hearer trainers
Delivered centrally though HVN ( i.e. we contract with trainers not purchasers)
Courses sold to a range of audiences

Non income generating (grant funded initially and later funded through income generation)

Programme of training for voices hearers to enable them to become part of network of trainers
Programme of training for voice hearers to enable them to become facilitators of hearing voices groups

ii) Network support and development

Income generating (other than grant funding)

Provision of training for professionals to become facilitators of hearing voices groups
Cheaper rate on HVN paid for training as benefit of becoming a member

None income generating (grant funded initially then later funded through income generation)

Meeting the support needs of voices hearers who have been on training to become trainers courses in order to help them sustain themselves as trainers
Programme of training for voice hearers ot become facilitators of hearing voices groups
Development and protection of the HVN brand
Development and implementation of the HVN charter with Hearing Voices Groups
Clear membership arrangements in terms of who, what types of membership, benefits and responsibilities
Quality control of groups and training and anything else delivered under the HVN brand/banner

iii) Publications

Income generating

Promoting sales of publications that we already have (eg by translating them, by advertising them etc)
Developing capacity and capability for online sales
Developing our own publishing brand
Developing new publications
Improving the quality (physical) of publications that we already sell

iv) Campaigning/Influencing

Non income generating

Attracting patrons
Developing HVN profile
Public speaking
Raising awareness
Lobbying
Media availability
Targeting specific markets with our products
Develop/clarify/redefine HVN position
Challenging traditional psychiatry’s focus on diagnostic labelling and the pathologising of hearing voices and other unusual experiences.

v) Events

Income generating

Critical Psychiatry Network/University of East London/HVN annual conference
HVN national conferences (08 events model)
AGM (Not income generating)

vi) Information Provision

Non income generating

Developing the website as a resource
Provision of information leaflets
Advice/information line (as distinct from any help/support line)

Question: What do you think about the proposed ways forward?

Are these the best ways for HVN to achieve its aims, bearing in mind the limited resources available?

Which services do you think HVN should run in the future?

Question: What do you think about our structure and infrastructure?

Could you outline any thoughts or ideas you have about:

Adopting a regional structure?

Changing/Improving our membership structure?

HVN’s relationship with associate trainers?

HVN’s relationship with regional networks – the role of the national office, affiliation arrangements – e.g. London network model?

Ways for HVN to generate more sustainable income?

General Consultation Questions:

What are the three most important things you would incorporate into a statement about what HVN should be trying to achieve (i.e. our mission)?

Are there any other areas of HVNs activities or future you would like to comment on?

5. Who we are consulting:

Focus groups with voice hearers and facilitators in 9 regions:

North East

North West

Yorkshire & Humberside

East Midlands

West Midlands

East Anglia

London

South East

South West

Voice hearers (via membership database), Hearing Voices group facilitators (via group’s database and LHVN), carers, allies, supporters.

Healthcare Commission (Care Quality Commission)

Department of Health

Delivering Race Equality Board

Social Perspectives Network

Sainsbury Centre

Social Care Institute for Excellence

National Mind

Local Mind Associations

Rethink

Royal College of Psychiatry

British Psychological Society

Mental Health Network/ NHS Confederation

Together

Institute of Psychiatry

Making Space

6. What Happens Next?

Once the consultation is complete the Trustees will consider the results and incorporate them into a strategic business plan for the organisation that will set the organisation’s direction for the next 3-5 years, this will form the basis for fundraising during 2009-2010 to implement the strategy.

Stakeholders will be kept informed of progress through the newsletter.

7. Information about you:

Future funders may ask HVN to provide information about who we have consulted. To help us with future funding applications could you please provide the following information:

Are you taking part in this consultation as: (please tick)

An individual:

As a group facilitator:

As a representative of an organisation:

For Individuals:

Do you hear voices?

Do you support somebody who hears voices?

Do you have some other interest in the work of HVN?

For group facilitators:

What is the name and address of the group that you facilitate?

How many people who attend the group are you consulting?

For representatives of organisations:

Could you please provide your name, address and your role within the organisation that you represent:

Many thanks for taking the time to participate in the consultation plan for the Hearing Voices Network.

Your views are really valuable to us.

INTERVOICE anthems

2009-02-20T21:52:00Z

<center> </center>
Our new anthems
</center>
In tribute to your creativity, two pieces of music have been produced for INTERVOICE, the first by Mary Maddocks, the second by Martin Brotheridge

"Voices" by Mary Maddocks

listen to it here
<center> </center>
This song was specially written by Mary to acknowledge and celebrate the experience of people who hear voices.
read the lyrics here

<center>The voice the muse...
by Martin Brotheridge

</center>

An instrumental track inspired by the experience of hearing voices, read what Martin says about the tune and listen to it here

In remembrance of Ian Murray

2009-01-07T15:04:00Z

We are extremely saddened to learn of the death of Ian Murray who died on the 30th December 2008.
Ian was an innovative and courageous mental health nurse, whose career spanned 37 years. He worked in hospital and community settings. Between 1993 and 1996 he was nursing manager at Dryll y Car Support Bed Unit in Barmouth, North Wales . Most recently Ian was working as a CPN in Meirionnyd in North Wales. He died on his way to visit a client.
Ian is perhaps best known for his work on the issue of self harm, working in partnership with people who self harmed he pioneered a humanistic approach to assisting people to cope with their experiences, including "safe" self harm techniques and an apprecaition of why people self harm. His training work on self harm and hearing voices with Sharon Lefevre, Ron Coleman and Phil Thomas has proven to be enormously influential and beneficial.
His career long dedication to changing psychiatric nursing will always be remembered. He prefered to do this "from within" by adhering to the "basic principles of empowerment and support.". As he said " .... giving support to people is the significant thing that happens in normal society," he said. "In society we support each other to recover in reciprocal ways. That is what we should try and do in nursing"
Ron Coleman, friend and colleague of Ian said of him "Ian was a wonderful guy, always supportive, funny and challenging. He related to people with mental health problems in a special way, you never felt there was a gap. I remember in Maastricht, he was mistaken by a mental health professional as a patient and was offered a free meal, rather then be insulted or angry, he thought it was hilarious and enjoyed his meal even more as a result. We will all miss him very much".
We extend our sincere and heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.
If you wish, please use the message board below to pay tribute to, remember, share experiences and talk about Ian and his work.

Listening to the Silences: In a world of hearing voices

2008-12-15T14:01:00Z

Page updates 15/12/2008

Listening to the Silences: In a world of hearing voices
by Roy Vincent
Editorial Review:
A 'presence' that I could not see, moved from the space in front of me, into me, and immediately my mind was charged with another 'voice' or provoker of thoughts, thoughts over which, then, I had no control, and which were not initiated by me. In my head began conversation as between two separate people, one of whom was me.
I began to 'hear voices.
"He pours water over many unhelpful myths, and writes clearly in a way that will probably save someone's life."
…if you are being engulfed in the quicksand of your mind;
...if you are calling for help in the silence of your mind;
…if you cannot silence the voices that invade your mind, dominate and torment you;
…if you are caring for someone who is struggling within the morass that their mind has become…
If you are any of these, I am writing for you.
"My son is in hospital on anti-psychotic drugs. He describes it word for word like Roy. He has always said that it is a spiritual thing, not a mental illness."
Synposis
In the autumn of 1979, I began to hear voices and experience other phenomena, and have done so ever since. Thus in over 27 years, I have never been free from intrusions that enter blatantly or subliminally into my mind and mental faculties, and forcefully or subtly into my body and senses.
I use the word ‘intrusion’ deliberately, for that is what they are – not the product of an aberrant mind nor of a diseased brain; not hallucinations nor yet delusions. Because of what I was doing at the outset in 1979, I have no doubt, not the slightest shadow, that what I experience is of spiritual origin. Use of the word ‘spiritual’ to some immediately suggests ‘religion’, ‘spiritualism’, ‘theology’ and the like – words that to many are off-putting, and likely to prevent them from even opening my book. Forget such preconceptions. I am an engineer and my approach and language are those of an engineer – as precise and realistic as I can be within a realm of experience that is most [U]im[/U]precise and [U]un[/U]realistic.
From the beginning I have kept notes, which from 1998 began to turn into coherent writing as I became computer literate. In my parallel reading from the field of mental health, I found what are called ‘The First Rank Symptoms’ of schizophrenia, and I realised that I had experienced them all, and recorded and written of them, albeit in my own words. Yet – and this is the most important point that I am desperately trying to make – I have never been ill from this cause, and neither have I, nor would I seek help or intervention from the world of psychiatry or that of religion. On the contrary, I write to inform those in both such worlds who endeavour to help the mentally ill and disturbed.[/FONT][/SIZE]
As fast as I wrote, my words were read avidly by friends who work in the field of psychiatry. As they read, they wanted to know about ‘before’ – i.e. about my life before the onset of the intrusions. I realised that I should indeed write about ‘before’, in order to separate it from the events of 1979 and what has followed, for apart from the fact that both sequences happened to me, they are totally unconnected
What happened ‘before’ is a story in itself, and it forms the first part of my book. In 1961, I had a successful career in the nuclear industry – a career of which I was robbed through the consequences of a medical misdiagnosis, and inappropriate and unnecessary medication. What is now known to have been a Cryptosporidia infection was treated as if ‘nervous’, and I began a life with Librium. After two years continuous use, an addict, dependent, and showing many of the side-effects of the drug, I began a ‘psychiatric’ year that opened with two episodes of cold turkey, then hospitalisation for a total of twenty weeks, 23 E.C.T.s, ‘experiments’ with a variety of drugs such as Tryptizol, Melleril, Valium, Pertofran and assorted benzodiazepines and barbiturates, plus insulin shock ‘therapy’ - and that ended with a farcical second opinion from someone who went on to become a doyen in the world of psychiatry.
I retired early with my career and home wrecked, and in total, in real terms, I have lost ovsans-serifer a half million pounds. But hard though it may be to believe, effectively I began a new life. It is a life that has been and is both fascinating and rewarding – even though after four years it included the events that then led to the spiritual intrusions. For, as I found out, not only are there the malevolent – the ones that plague the ‘schizophrenic’ - but there are also the benevolent.[/FONT
The whole story is there in the book – of how under the tuition of renowned healer, the late Bruce Macmanaway, I found that I also had a talent to heal. It is a talent that I have used hopefully to good effect, and which has brought me many rewards in encounters with wonderful people.
electrical environment, and an understanding of aspects of electricity and health. Becoming aware of the electrical nature of acupuncture, I expanded my knowledge and experience in this field also.
I identified over thirty different ploys that are used by intruding ‘entities’, and describe these in detail. I also realised that channels into the minds of the vulnerable can be opened via such activities as hypnotism and hypnotherapy, past life regression, Reiki, channelling and various forms of ‘divination’. There are cautions, too, for those involved in spirit release, and many of the esoteric practices that involve ‘opening the mind’, and references also to the possibility of such ‘recreational’ drugs as cannabis and mescaline having the same effect – the effect sought by the shaman figure and such. I speculate too on possible links with manic depression. Among my heroes are such diverse individuals as Galileo, Paracelsus and Nikola Tesla, and I quote and draw conclusions from them as I do from the writing and communications of a wide variety of psychiatrists, psychologists and others in the field of mental health, such as Irving Gottesman, Julian Jaynes, Martin Roth, Kenneth McAll, A.W.Drummond, Wilson Van Dusen, Richard Mackarness - to name a few. I have also drawn from that well-known hearer of voices and seer of visions, Teresa of Avila
am making my book freely available, for it is important that it is read. The only price that I ask is that you should use it or put it to use for others who are struggling within the morass that their mind has become, and that you should tell others of its Web address. I am now over 80, and still have many other things to achieve, so I cannot undertake to respond to any or all communications, but will try. In the meantime I can join poet W.B.Yeats, and speculate –

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News about TV, radio and internet coverage of hearing voices

2008-12-15T11:43:00Z

Page last updated 12/12/2008

News about TV and radio programmes on hearing voices from around the world

2008

7th November 2008: The Voices Within ... Special Hearing Voices 'All In The Mind' interview with Sandra Escher, Dirk Coerstens and Rufus May - broadcast on ABC across Australia. See here for comments that have been submitted to ABC's web-site:

21st April 2008 "The Doctor who Hears Voices" shown on UK TV . Over a million people watched the broadcast and thousands of people are now down loading from several Internet sites. It has provoked a strong response from viewers. Many people have been inspired by the film, others more attached to a medical approach to distress have been outraged, read Rufus Mays' reflections on making the film here

7th April 2008: Angels and Demons
broadcast on ABC in Australia.This well regarded documentary made by Andrew Denton as part of the "Enough Rope" series considers what it is like to hear voices. You can watch it here and read the programme transcript here

27 April 2008: Am I Normal?: Programme information, review and description

A growing number of mental health experts in Scotland agree that there is a need to scrap the term schizophrenia, since it has, they believe, become a stigmatised and scientifically redundant category. BBC 2, UK, TV programme

7th May 2008: "Thinking Allowed" a series presented by Laurie Taylor, broadcast Wednesday, 7 May, 4pm and repeated Sunday, 11 May 12.15 (night)
This week it covers the phenomenon of hearing voices ".. voices might not be as unusual as we think, and many people even live quite happily with the voices they hear. Dr Julie Kirby, senior Lecturer at Edge Hill University talks about her research study of over sixty people who live with voice hearing. "
You can listen to a stream of the programme here

News about TV, radio and internet coverage of hearing voices

2008-12-15T11:43:00Z
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Page last updated 12/12/2008

News about TV and radio programmes on hearing voices from around the world>/b>

Hearing Voices: The Personal Stories of Voice Hearers

2008-12-11T20:27:00Z

Page last updated 12/12/2008

Hearing Voices: The Personal Stories of Voice Hearers
Intervoice and Ben Gray are putting together a book on the experiences and stories of hearing voices.
The emphasis is about all sorts of voices and voice hearers and all sorts of points of view and personal journeys. What did the voices say? How did they make you feel? What was the reaction of family, friends and mental health professionals?
If you would like to contribute to this book, then please send your story to the email below.
You should try to write between 1- 10 pages on your experiences (300- 3000 words).
All profits will be donated to the funding of Intervoice.
If we are going to change and improve voice hearers' lives, then your stories are the first place to start.
Please email: voices2009@hotmail.co.uk

Calling for Volunteers interested in talking about their Voices

2008-12-11T20:12:00Z

Page last updated 12/12/2008

Calling for Volunteers interested in talking about their Voices
Dear Community,
I am a 3rd year PhD student at the California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco. I am also a Marriage and Family Therapist intern and am currently studying for my licensing exam.
I am currently working on my dissertation proposal and I am particularly interested in interviewing 5-6 people who match the following criteria:
1.Age: 18 years - 60 years
2.Individuals who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia
3.Individuals who have had auditory hallucinations
4.Individuals who are able to coherently speak about their experiences of auditory hallucinations.
I am interested in interviewing such individuals about their auditory hallucinations, and if they ever felt in their lives that their hallucinations were meaningful or insightful to them. I am hopeful that my dissertation will be a voice for all those people with a supposed "mental illness" or a "brain disease" to be heard and seen in a different light.
My school has an extremely thorough review committee called the Human Research and Review Committee (HRCC). This means that issues such as informed consent, confidentiality, providing therapy for subjects should they require it immediately following the interview, etc , will be included and discussed prior to the interview.
Unfortunately, there will be no compensation offered as this is an independent study. The co-researchers will essentially be volunteering their time and will have the opportunity to share their stories and have a voice to express themselves. I am hopeful that this will be enough incentive in itself.
If interested, or if you have any questions, please email me at rochelle9@gmail.com
In gratitude,
Rochelle Suri.

A proposal to establish a Scottish Hearing Voices Network National Office and Support Service

2008-09-04T13:46:00Z

Page created 01/08/2008

<center> </center>
<center>The Scottish Hearing Voices Networks wants your views on their plans for the future</center>
The Scottish Hearing Voices Network is planning to set up a national office to support the development of hearing voices groups throughout Scotland. They have written a draft proposal and would like to hear what voice hearers from Scotland think about their ideas. They would also be happy to hear from other people concerned with hearing voices too. Click on the title for more information on how you can get involved
Read their press release here
Print the "Complete the Questionnaire" poster here
See the SHVN membership form here
31st January 2009 Scottish Hearing voices Network Annual General Meeting to be held at the HaVeN, Dundee, at 12.30 pm. See the poster here and print and display
here

A proposal to establish a Scottish Hearing Voices Network National Office and Support Service

You can click on the red coloured headings and this will take you straight to the section of the report you want to read, otherwise please continue reading

1. Introduction:
2. Issues and Needs
3. Responses
4. The National Support Service:

1. Introduction

This is a proposal to establish a national office for the Scottish Hearing Voices Network (SHVN) that has been drafted by members of the SHVN Steering Group and the coordinator of INTERVOICE. It is based on thinking and work carried out by the SHVN over the last few years.

The objective of this plan is to identify the means of establishing a strong presence of hearing voices initiatives throughout Scotland supported by a national SHVN office.

This consultation will assist the SHVN to strengthen this plan that will then be be used to negotiate with funding bodies

The 3 month consultation process will start on the 5th July 2008.

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2. Issues and needs:

2.1 People who hear voices, like other groups with specific needs and issues can be regarded as a community of interest, not defined by their location on a map, by profession or by socio-economic status. Voice hearers are scattered all over the country, and come from many walks of life. The definition comes out of their specific issue or need arising from hearing voices, making them a broad-based "community of interest".

2.2 People who hear voices experience social exclusion and marginalisation through issues such as their medical diagnoses, behaviour and in some case the consequences of their social and economic position. For instance periodic incapacitation leads to unemployment, low income status and social exclusion. The consequences of social exclusion are in themselves damaging to self esteem and bad for mental health

2.3 Voice hearers who are overwhelmed by their voices are often surrounded by professionals, who protect, make judgements and decisions about their lives leading in some cases to passivity and loss of self-direction

2.4 Many voice hearers do not talk leading to invisibility and isolation from other ´Voice Hearers’.

2.5 There is a social stigma attached to hearing voices, arising from the lack of knowledge and understanding by the wider community of voice hearing. This lack of knowledge leads to mistrust and to further isolation for some voice hearers.

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3. Responses

3.1 Our work will be positioned outside of psychiatry:

1. Public meetings, conferences and self-help groups are held as much as possible in non-medical settings

2. We will organise as a network not as a hierarchical organisation.

3.2 We will develop, support and establish self help groups: Because self help groups have been one of the most successful ways to open up discussion about hearing voices, we believe a safe place to talk about voices is important in a society that stigmatises the experience and that has resulted in many voice hearers have to keep silent about their experiences.

3.3 Self help groups can reduce the isolation that people feel and it can be very helpful to talk to other people who share your experience. In England there are over 150 self help groups where voice hearers meet regularly to share their experiences and to learn more about how to cope with their voices. Self-help groups “ideally” meet in the community, led by voice hearers

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4. The National Office and Support Service:

These are our aims and objectives for the support service:

Our Aims:

1. Bring together people who hear voices
2. Increase involvement of people who hear voices in the Scottish Hearing Voices Network
3. Improve the quality of life of people who hear voices
4. Address the isolation and withdrawal of people who hear voices
5. Build a sense of community (based on the common interests of people who hear voices)
6. Support individual people who hear voices
7. Support existing self help groups and the development of new groups

Our Objectives:

What will we do?

1. Involve voice hearers across Scotland in the work of the SHVN

2. Help self help groups and local networks to become better organised

3. Establish an interactive website to allow people to share coping strategies, stories, etc.

4. Hold an annual conference

5. Employ 2 workers (1 expert by experience and 1 expert by profession)

6. Provide training and support to self help group facilitators and to other people working with voice hearers

How will we do this?

1. By producing a business plan to enable SHVN to apply for funding for a national office and workers to provide organising support for the network

2. Build skills and capacity for participation and involvement by individual voice hearers including through this consultation

Why do we need a national office?

1.To increase the support to individual voice hearers throughout Scotland, including quantity and quality of mutual support available

2.To reduce the isolation of voice hearers in remote areas

3.To establish support structures to assist local groups to be set up and establish themselves and to support existing and new self help groups:

What will the national office do?

This project intends to develop a National Office for the SHVN staffed by two workers providing a support service to complement and to extend the work of the network

We will seek to help people better understand and cope with their voice hearing experiences by developing new ways for people to participate and work together as experts of experience.

This project will marry the best of “traditional” and “virtual” community development methods and techniques to enable the strengthening and expansion of the SHVN

We believe that by harnessing both the power of traditional community work and by using the internet we can reach more people who hear voices in need of support and further enhance the work of the SHVN by strengthening the self help and peer support groups that operate in Scotland.

The project will help extend the reach and increase the effectiveness of the organisation in delivering low-cost support services. This will be achieved by developing ways of working that emphasise collaboration, mutual support and the sharing of ideas and resources.

Specifically we aim to do the following:

Participation: Establishing an on-line community to provide additional support and information to members between meetings, thereby increasing member participation and strengthening the links between existing self help and peer support groups

Support: Increasing the level and quality of support provided by groups by providing mentoring and training to group facilitators. Mentoring will enable the skills and knowledge of experienced facilitators to be passed on to new facilitators

Development: Providing the means to develop further self help groups (including on-line groups) in areas where no such support exists, particularly in rural communities, by helping to draw together isolated voice hearers and supporting mental health workers

We will undertake the following:

Community based work will include:

Increasing the level of support available from the national office to the membership by employing two workers (ideally one expert by experience and one expert by profession)

Supporting, establishing and further developing self-help groups across Scotland

Increasing the membership of the Network and providing services such as a regular newsletter, information services, publications

Training services:
For Self Help Group facilitators and providing for their ongoing mentoring and support
For training trainers

Mentoring

Outreach services

Holding an Annual National Conference

Establishing a Recovery Consultancy Service

Establishing an Experience Focus Counselling Service

On-line work will include:

Develop of an on-line community centred on the SHVN which includes the following:

Peer to peer on-line telephony (e.g. Skype, MSN etc.), to enable no cost/low cost regular one-to-one “mentoring” support for group facilitators and members of the groups;

On-line conference calls to enable ongoing support between members of real time support groups
– and
to assist in the development of new groups by bringing together potential members to discuss and plan establishing new groups

Instant chat-rooms to provide moderated live text based discussions between memberships of different self help groups and between self help group members, workers and carers

Establish a national on-line forum to provide a means of developing support to individuals and other groups concerned with supporting individuals who hear voices

Increase the knowledge base of the groups and increasing the potential for interactivity between the local groups and the Network national office via on-line information sharing

The establishment of ”My Voices” recovery blogs, a service enabling members to use to keep an on-line diary of their recovery experiences that they can share with their friends and supporters

The establishment of an accessible website providing the opportunity for a single point of entry to the above services

<center></center>

Key words:

Facilitating;
Non-hierarchical;
Underpinning;
Encouraging diversity and pluralism

A Person centred structure looking like this:

<center> People who hear voices (working towards empowerment & recovery)
|
Self help groups
|
Local Networks
|
Scottish HVN National Office and Support Service
|
INTERVOICE</center>

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<center></center>

What do you think of our proposal?

We welcome your comments and views about this consultative document, which is primarily for people who hear voices from Scotland.

We would be grateful if you would let us know whether you hear voices or if you know or work with someone who hears voices and whereabouts you are from (you don´t need to be specific eg. you can just tell use what what region you are from).

Please indicate in your response if you would be happy for us to contact you.

If you would like to give your views confidentially, require any further information about the Scottish Hearing Voices Network or if we can asist in any other way, you can contact us here
or write to us at SHVN, 216 - 220 Hilltown, Dundee, DD3 7AU

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HVN-USA Training Days with Mike Smith and Marion Aslan, 18th - 19th August 2008

2008-08-14T20:53:00Z

SAVE THE DATE!

Day one:

Monday August 18, 2008

9am to 3pm

SOAR Case Management

&

The Hearing Voices Network-USA Presents:

The THRIVE© Approach to
Mental Wellness

Time
Healing
Resilience
Interdependence
Vivacity
Emancipation

Building resilience and finding your future

Many people experience severe psychic distress at some point in their life - 1 in 4 of us in the course of a year according to statistics, and at the time it can be totally devastating. Quite apart from the distress this causes to the individual and their loved ones, some people report feeling misunderstood and even frightened by a society which often focuses on illness, deficits, losses and stigmatization. Many myths and misconceptions still abound regarding psychic distress - not only those held by the general public, but ironically sometimes by those working within mental health systems. 

Very often the emphasis is on mental ill health rather than wellness, problems rather than skills, symptoms rather than resilience and despite the concept of recovery being recognized, helping agencies remain predominantly singularly medical in approach and more target driven than people orientated. Sometimes workers feel disempowered, lack confidence or don?t fully understand what it is that nurtures recovery.

The THRIVE© approach takes a more positive stance. Devised by Mike Smith, a nurse of 25 years experience and former Director of Nursing in North Birmingham, UK, and Marion Aslan, a teacher and former user of mental health services who has worked in the learning disabilities and mental health voluntary sector for the last 30 years, we have drawn on our experiences of what keeps people maintained within the system and what works in the moving on process, whereby people thrive and find their future. Taking the underpinning elements of Time, Healing, Resilience, Interdependence, Vivacity and Emancipation this book accompanies the individual on their journey to recovery and beyond, instills hope and optimism for a positive future, and enables the person to chart their own course.

 ?This book fills a gap, where psychiatry more and more fails to see that mental health problems are a reaction to problems in life and not only, if at all, symptoms of an illness. The THRIVE Approach focuses on the person?s own potential and their capabilities to find solutions for their problems. Using this process, it is about framing your understanding of your experiences?.

 --Marius Romme, Professor Emeritus of Social Psychiatry 

Facilitated by Dr. Mike Smith

Mike is a psychiatric nurse with over 20 years experience working with psychosis and self injury. Mike

was the winner of the Bethlem & Maudsley 750th anniversary award for advancing mental health care and the overall nurse of the year in 1997.

 

Location: Mendota Mental Health Conference Center, Madison WI.

Free to consumers of mental health Services

$ 50.00 per day for professionals

Sliding scale for the underfunded workers-just come!

For more information contact Jenny Branks 446-0104, jennybranks@hotmail.com

For more information about Mike Smith and his team check out: www.crazydiamond.org.uk

For information about SOAR & HVN-USA check out: www.hvn-usa.org 

_______________________________________________________________________

DAY 2 SAVE THE DATE!

Tuesday August 19, 2008

9am to 3pm 

SOAR Case Management & the Hearing Voices Network-USA 

Present:

Working With Voices/First Aid in Psychosis

This one day workshop will consider the current beliefs about who hears voices and will deconstruct some of the predominant belief systems of voice hearing as a disorder. The workshop will then consider newer views and the importance of these views when working with people troubled by the voices that they hear. The workshop will use tools such as the Maastricht interview and the victim to victor workbook. The final session of the day will be around psychiatric first aid, what to do to help a voice hearer distressed by their experiences in the short term and the longer term. This will include identifying the real problems and complaints in broader psychotic experiences, normalising the experiences and finding a context. Distraction techniques, cognitive methods and physical methods of coping with psychotic experiences will be discussed and also the evidence of how they help and who they help. If people wish we can also consider the theory behind voice dialogues

Facilitated by Dr. Mike Smith

 Mike is the author of many publications in mental health including the workbooks working with voices, working with self-harm, 

working with survivors of sexual abuse and more recently psychiatric first aid in psychosis. 

Mike is known for his research in the process of recovery in psychosis and more latterly for his work enabling professionals to be more helpful in their responses to voice hearer?s requests for help. Mike was awarded the Bethlem & Maudsley 750th anniversary prize for the advancement of mental health care in 1997 for his work with voice hearers.Location: Mendota Mental Health Conference Center, Madison WI.

$ 50.00 per day for professionals

Sliding scale for the underfunded workers-just come!

Free to consumers of mental health Services

 

Location: Mendota Mental Health Conference Center

 

For more information contact Jenny Branks 446-0104, jennybranks@hotmail.com

For more information about Mike Smith and his team check out: www.crazydiamond.org.uk

For information about SOAR & HVN-USA check out: www.hvn-usa.org 

 

Mendota Mental Health Institute
301 Troy Drive, Madison, WI 53704
Phone: (608) 301-1000 Fax: (608) 301-1358

HOW TO GET TO MENDOTA

Mendota Mental Health Institute is located at the north edge of Madison on Lake Mendota. Take Interstate 90/94 to highway 30 into Madison. From highway 30 exit to highway 113 north toward the Dane County airport. Stay on highway 113 to Troy Drive or Knutson Drive (look for the tall smoke stack).

About the Scottish Hearing Voices Network

2008-07-14T10:40:00Z

Page created 14/07/2008

Introduction
The Scottish Hearing Voices Network (SHVN) was established in April 2001, by members of Hearing Voices groups throughout Scotland.

Aims and objectives
The Network aims to:

Relieve the suffering and distress of people who are voice hearers, vision seers and/or have related extraordinary experiences.
Promoting the development of hearing voices support groups in Scotland.
To provide mutual support
The advancement of education through training and research

Organisation SHVN is a registered charity (Charity Number: SC 033276) and is managed by a committee of people who hear voices and other supporters.

Contact details
Registered office: Scottish Hearing Voices Network, 216-220 Hilltown, DUNDEE, Tel: 01382 223023

Scottish Hearing Voices Groups July 2008

2008-07-14T08:43:00Z

Page created 14/07/2008

Hearing Voices Network Dundee
Dundee
Website: http://hearingvoicesnetwork.com
email: form mail here
HaVen, 216 - 220 Hilltown, Dundee, DD3 7AU
Contact: Pat Webster
Telephone: 01382 223023
Music Group, Befriending Service: 'Bridging the Gap', Writing Group, Self Help Groups, Card Making Group

Hearing Voices Network Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Inchkeith House Selfhelp Group (Fridays 2pm - 3pm)
137 Leith Walk
Stuart Hyde and Alisdair Gormly

"The Hive" Self Help Group (Tuesdays 2pm - 3pm)
Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Morningside Tce.
Run by SAMH
Contact: Shona Ferguson
Telephone: 0131 537 6256

Cambridge Street's Group and 1-1 Clinic Group (Thursdays 3pm - 4pm)
Cambridge Street House 5, Cambridge Street
Contact: George Watson, Barbara Braner or Christine Hislop
Telephone: 0131 5378650

Fife Hearing Voices Network
Kirkcaldy
Website: here
email: From mail
Supported by NSF Scotland
Office 4, Fraser Buildings, Millie Street, Kirkcaldy, KY1 2NL
Tel: 01592 267771

Hearing Voices Network Glasgow
Glasgow
Website: here
email: hvngvoices@yahoo.com
In process of setting up self help group
Contact: Amanda
Telephone: 07806478574

Grampian Hearing Voices Network
Aberdeen
Website: http://www.hearingvoicesnetwork.com/
email: ghvnaberdeen@yahoo.co.uk

Self help group
Alford Centre Hearing voices Group, Alford Centre, Albyn Place, Aberdeen,
Contact Christine Brown
Telephone: 01224-557601

Shetland Hearing Voices Network
Self help group
Echoes Hearing Voices Group Shetland, Echoes, Shetland Link Up, 8 Commercial Street, Lerwick, Shetland, 2EI 0AN
Contact: Heather Slater
Telephone: 01595 693313h

Websites run by Local HVN Networks in Scotland

2008-07-10T19:21:00Z

Page created 10/07/2008

Dundee Hearing Voices Group (Scotland)
The Overall aim of The Hearing Voices Network Dundee is to create acceptance that hearing voices is a valid experience for which there are many explanations.

Fife Hearing Voices Network (Scotland)
Fife Hearing Voices Network is a service user led project. Members contribute to the project's running in many ways, from planning group programmes to actively taking part in the ongoing development of the project.

Glasgow Hearing Voices Network (Scotland)
Hearing Voices Network Glasgow is a support group for people who hear voices, for them to get together and give mutual support.

Grampian Hearing Voices Network (Scotland)
Helps promote and support voice hearers, their families, friends, carers and professionals.

Don't Panic if your child is hearing voices - It´s not the end of the world

2008-07-05T20:31:00Z

Page updated 04/07/2008

You can download the print version here

Information about Children and Young People who Hear Voices for Parents and Carers

by Sandra Escher

Dr. Sandra Escher is from the Netherlands, she is an expert on the issue of children who hear voices and has spent the last fifteen years talking to children who hear voices and to their parents and carers. Sandra has carried out the most detailed and thorough research into the phenomenon in the world to date. In this article she offers a new perspective on what the voices may represent and how you can help your child cope if they are hearing voices.

Why we have written this information leaflet
Introduction
How do most parents react when their child talks about hearing voices?
“Normal” children and adults hear voices
Hearing voices and traumatic experiences
Voices as messengers
For many children voices disappear over time
The voices may stay but children can cope with them
Supporting your child
More information
A 10 point check-list
Further reading

Why we have written this information leaflet
We have written this information leaflet for parents and carers in the hope that it will enable you to develop a new and more empowering way of thinking about the your child's experiences and that it will help you in finding ways to assist your child in their emotional development and recovery from hearing overwhelming voices.

Unfortunately, there is very little practical advice available about children who hear voices that addresses your needs as parents and family members, this is a shame because you are the most important form of support to your child. So, we wanted you to know that there are some simple common sense things that you can do to help your child. We hope you will find the information helpful.
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Introduction
First things first, From the research that we have carried out into the experience of adults and children who hear voices it has became apparent that:
To hear voices is in itself is a normal though unusual experience
However, it is possible that you can become ill as a result of hearing voices when you cannot cope with them
For most children (60%) the voices will disappear over time as the child develops and as they learn to cope with the life's problems (and the emotions and feelings involved with these problems) that led to the voices starting in the first place
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How do most parents react when their child talks about hearing voices?
When you find out that your child hears voices it can be devastating. Some parents have said it “felt like my whole world had collapsed." This reaction is understandable, for as parents we are naturally very protective of our children and do not want to see them distressed, hurt or confused. However, there is a crucial question that needs to be asked about why we react in this way when we discover a child is hearing voices.

Our reactions are based on information we have picked up about the meaning of hearing voices. Mostly these are based on assumptions held by society, especially the widely held belief that to hear voices is the same as the mental illness “schizophrenia”.

The good news is that this belief is not correct. Whilst it is the case that hearing voices is apparent in about 60% of the persons who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia. It is not the other way around! If you hear voices that does not mean you have schizophrenia.

There is an even more important issue that you may not be aware of: hearing voices in itself is normal - but – it is possible to become ill from hearing voices if you cannot cope with them. This means that it is coping with hearing voices that is the problem and not the voices in themselves.
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Normal” children and adults hear voices
This little known fact is based on a lot of research. Several large scale population (epidemiological) studies have shown that about 4 % of the population hears voices. Of these 4% of the people who hear voices about 30% seek assistance from mental health services. Amongst children however, even more of the “normal” population hears voices (8%) and as with adults about 30% are referred to mental health services.

What this means is that there are apparently many more people who hear voices who do not require the support of mental health services then those that do. This is because they can cope with the voices and function well in in their everyday lives.

Unfortunately, most of the information that we have about the experience of hearing voices comes exclusively from research with patients; people who obviously cannot cope with the voices and needed help. These are people who feel that the voices made them feel powerless and who were overwhelmed by them. This is the case for research for adults and children who are hearing voices. However, in other articles on this site you can find out more about people who can cope with their voices or even have positive experiences.
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Hearing voices and traumatic experiences
In our research we found that a common theme in both groups (adults and children) is the high percentage of traumatic experiences that have been found to have been the trigger for hearing voices. In adults around 75% began to hear voices in relationship to a trauma or situation that made them feel powerless.

Examples of the kinds of traumas that trigger voices include the death of a loved one, divorce, losing a job, failing an exam, but also longer lasting situations like being physically, emotionally or sexually abused. With children the percentage was even higher at 85%, with some traumas specifically related to childhood. These traumas might include being bullied by peers or teachers, or being unable to perform at a certain level at school, another commonly reported traumatic incident related to hearing voices is being admitted to a hospital for long periods because of a physical illness.

I would say that hearing voices is mostly a reaction to a situation or a problem the child or young person cannot cope with.

It is a signal.
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Voices as messengers
Another striking finding is that what the voices say often gives an indication of the problem that the child has.
An example:
The voices told an 8-year-old boy to blind himself. This frightened his mother. But when we discussed whether there was something in the life of the boy he could not face, she understood the voices message. The boy could not cope with the problematic marriage of his parents. He did not want to see it.

What we saw in our research is that if attention was given to the problems the child was facing, they will be able to establish a more constructive kind of relationship with the voices. As a result children become less afraid of their voices. When a child is able to consider the problems that are at the root of their distress and with the emotions and feelings involved, the voices stop being the child's only focus of attention.
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For many children voices disappear over time
Recently I conducted a 3-year follow up study on 80 children who heard voices who were aged between 8 and 19 years of age. Half of this group of children were receiving mental health care because of their voices, however, the other half were not in care at all. I interviewed the children 4 times at yearly intervals. At the end of the research period 60% of the children I interviewed reported that the voices had disappeared.

Of course figures and statistics like this do not directly relate to you. But the overall message is that the chance that the voice might disappear is quite high.

We saw that the children's problems often stopped their development through the voice experience. However, if the problems were handled or their situation changed; for example because the child changed schools, the voices disappeared.
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The voices may stay but children can cope with them
It is important that we appreciate that the the desire to make the voices disappear is a goal of the mental health care services and not necessarily that of the children themselves. There are some children who did not want to lose their voices. This is OK, for the most important thing is that the voices no longer remain at the centre of their attention. This is because as the relationship with the voices changed and became more positive, instead of hindering the child the voices start to take on an advisory role. If children find within themselves the resources to cope with their voices and the emotions involved with hearing them then they can lead happy and balanced lives.
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Supporting your child
The most important element in the process of positively changing your child's relationship with their voice is the support they got from the family. Unfortunately, our research has shown that being in the mental health care system had no positive effect on the voices, although we did find that being referred to a psychotherapist who accepted the reality of the voices and were prepared to discuss their meaning with the child did have a positive influence on how the child coped with their voices.

We also saw that “normalising” the experience can help parents to deal with the voices – try not to think of it as a terrible disaster, but as a signal for something that is troubling your child and that can be resolved. On the other hand, if parents cannot accept that voice hearing in itself is normal, but believe the voices to be an illness and are afraid of the voices, then the child naturally picks up this feeling. Imagine for a moment if you were the child and were afraid of the voices and when you looked for support from your Mum and Dad you found that they were even even more afraid of the voices then you were. This would obviously put you under great pressure and probably mean that you would become reluctant about talking about your experiences at all.

There is a second problem,at if you are afraid of the voices then you can become obsessed with the fear of the voices alone and not what the voices mean. When you are distressed and anxious you cannot listen very well to the story your child tells about their experiences and may fail to pick up on the related problems and emotions that the voices represent.

In our experience what helps children the most is a systematic approach to understanding the voices. So to help we have developed an interview to help map the experience. This can be used as a way to understand the stress the child is under and then to work together to find solutions for the problems raised by the voice hearing experience..
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More information
This information is just a brief introduction to a new way of thinking about children who hear voices that might help you to face the problems you have. If you want more information about the research, about the elements of the therapy that helped the children or you want a copy of the interview form we used to in our research to help you with your child please let us know.

Sandra Escher, MPhil, PhD.
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<center>"What you can do if your child tells you they are hearing voices“
A 10 point check-list</center>

1. Try not to over react, although you will be understandably worried, work hard not to communicate your anxiety to your child.

2. Accept the reality of the voice experience for your child: Ask them about their voices, how long they have been hearing them, who or what they are, do they have names, what they say etc.

3. Let your child know that lots of children hear voices and mostly they go away after a while.

4. Even if the voices do not disappear your child can learn to live in harmony with his/her voices

5. It is important to breakdown your child's sense of isolation and differentness from other children. Your child is special, unusual perhaps, but normal.

6. Find out if your child has any difficulties or problems that they are finding very hard to cope with and work on trying to fix these problems. Think back to when the voices first started, what was happening to your child when they first heard voices? When did the voices arise for the first time? Was there anything unusual or stressful that might have occurred?

7. If you think you need outside help, find a therapist who is prepared to accept your child's experience and work with your child in a systematic way to understanding and cope with their voices better.

8. Be ready to listen to your child if they want to talk about their voices and use drawing, painting, acting and other creative ways to help them describe what is happening to them.

9. Get on with your lives and try not to let the voice experience become the centre of your child's life or your own.

10. Most children who live well with their voices have supportive families living around them who accept the experience as part of who their child is. You can do this too!
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More articles about children and young people who hear voices here.

Further reading about children who hear voices from Sandra and other researchers
Sandra Escher , Marius Romme, Alex Buiks, Philippe Delespaul, Jim van Os (2002)., Formation of delusional ideation in adolescents hearing voices: A prospective study. American Journal of Medical Genetics, Neuropsychiatric Genetics, Volume 114, Issue 8 , Pages 913 - 920

S. Escher, M. Romme, A. Bunks & P. Delespaul, J Van Os; Independent course of childhood auditory hallucinations: a sequential 3-year follow-up study (2004), The British Journal of Psychiatry (2002) 181: s10-s18

Kotsopoulos, S., Kanigsberg, J., Cote, A., Fiedorowicz, C., Hallucinatory Experiences in Non psychotic Children, Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, May 1987, 26 (3), 375–380

McGee, R., Williams, S. & Poulton, R. (2000) Hallucinations in non psychotic children (letter). Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 12-13

Mertin P., Hartwig, S (2004) Auditory Hallucinations in Nonpsychotic Children: Diagnostic Considerations Child and Adolescent Mental Health, February 2004, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 9-14(6)

Pearson, D., Burrow, A., FitzGerald, C., Green, K., Lee, G., Wise, N. (2007) Auditory Hallucinations in Normal Child Populations Personality & Individual Differences, Aug. 2001, Special Issue, 31(3), 401 -407

Schreier, H. A., Hallucinations in Non psychotic Children: More Common Than We Think? Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, May 1999, 38 (5), 623–625

Vickers, B., Garralda, E. (2000) Hallucinations in Nonpsychotic Children Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Sept. 2000, 39 (9), 1073
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Normal people and hearing voices
Barret T.R and Etheridge J.B (1992) Verbal hallucinations in Normals I: People who hear voices Applied Cognitive Psychology, Vol. 6, pp. 379-387

Vanessa Beavan, John Read and Claire Cartwright (2006)Angels at our tables: A summary of the findings from a 3-year research project into New Zealanders’ Experiences of Hearing Voices, University of Auckland, New Zealand

Eaton W.W., Romanoski A., Anthony J.C., Nestadt G. (1991), Screening for psychosis in the general population with a self report interview, Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, No. 179, pp 689 693

Feelgood, S. R. and Rantzen, A. J. Auditory and Visual Hallucinations in University Students Personality and Individual Differences, 1994, Vol. 17 (2): 293-296

Honig, A.; Romme. M.; Ensink, B.; Escher, S.; Pennings, M.; Devries, M.W. (1998): Auditory Hallucinations: A Comparison between Patients and Nonpatients. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 186 (10), 646-651 Posey T.B. and Losch M.E. (1984), Auditory hallucinations of hearing voices in 375 normal subjects Imagination, Cognition and Personality, vol 3, no.2, pp. 99 113

Tien A.Y. (1991) Distributions of hallucinations in the population Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, No.26, pp. 287 292

John Watkins: Hearing voices - A Common Human Experience: published in 1998 by Hill of Content Publishing, Melbourne, Australia, ISBN 0-85572-288-6

J. Watkins; M. Romme; S. Escher (2003). Hearing voices: A common human experience. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, Volume 57, Issue 2 March 2003 , pages 157 - 159

Copyright 2008 Sandra Escher

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As well as leaving a comment on this page, you may wish to discuss your experiences and get feedback and responses from other INTERVOICE supporters, if so you can join our the online discussion forum home pageclick on Register, follow the instructions and you will be joined up straight away.
Anyone interested in the experience of hearing voices is welcome to join.

This forum is a place where:
you can ask questions, find answers, and share experiences and ideas with other voice hearers and other interested people (friends, family members, researchers, workers etc) from around the world;
you can find out the latest news about the Hearing Voices movement;
you can find information about training events and conferences;
you can find out about some of the other forums and websites on issues about hearing voices;
you can find out more about INTERVOICE, its aims and objectives and plans for the future.

Intervoice: - Home

Madness in the System: Knowing the Past, Shaping the Future: History and the Making of Public Policy

Hearing Voices Network in England (HVN): National Consultation Plan

INTERVOICE anthems

Our new anthems

"Voices" by Mary Maddocks

<center>The voice the muse... by Martin Brotheridge

In remembrance of Ian Murray

Listening to the Silences: In a world of hearing voices

News about TV, radio and internet coverage of hearing voices

News about TV, radio and internet coverage of hearing voices

Hearing Voices: The Personal Stories of Voice Hearers

Calling for Volunteers interested in talking about their Voices

A proposal to establish a Scottish Hearing Voices Network National Office and Support Service

HVN-USA Training Days with Mike Smith and Marion Aslan, 18th - 19th August 2008

<font color='#000000'><font face='Calibri'><font color='#000000'>Mendota Mental Health Institute </font></font></font><font color='#000000'><font face='Calibri'><font color='#000000'>301 Troy Drive, Madison, WI 53704 Phone: (608) 301-1000 Fax: (608) 301-1358</font></font></font>

About the Scottish Hearing Voices Network

Scottish Hearing Voices Groups July 2008

Websites run by Local HVN Networks in Scotland

Don't Panic if your child is hearing voices - It´s not the end of the world

<center>The voice the muse...
by Martin Brotheridge

<font color='#000000'><font face='Calibri'><font color='#000000'>Mendota Mental Health Institute
</font></font></font><font color='#000000'><font face='Calibri'><font color='#000000'>301 Troy Drive, Madison, WI 53704
Phone: (608) 301-1000 Fax: (608) 301-1358</font></font></font>