News about research, information, experiences 0
Page updated 21/11/2008
News from 2008
Psychologist's non-drug approach provokes reaction storm, Psychminded, 1st May 2008
A non-drug therapy used by a clinical psychologist when working with a voice-hearing client has provoked a storm of mixed reactions.
You can read full article here
Reflections on the making of "The Doctor Who Hears Voices" by Rufus May
"Over a million people watched the drama-documentary when it was broadcast in April in the U.K. on channel 4. 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 the article here
The Listening Cure, Time/CNN, 21st February 2008
HVN seeks to recast the phenomenon as a normal experience, encouraging members to maintain a dialogue with their voices so they can live peacefully with and even appreciate their presence.
We talked about the voices and my psychiatrist suggested I stop seeing them as a symptom of mental illness, Daily Mail, 07/02/2008
"I often wonder what would have happened to me if I hadn't found a psychiatrist who understood how to treat me."
UEL throws spotlight on 'hearing voices' , Newham Recorder, UK, 12 January 2008
The fascinating experiences of people who hear voices will come under the spotlight at a special one-day conference to be held at the University of East London
News from years 2006 and 2007
2007
What to say to the inner voice, CBC News, December 27, 2007
Daniel B. Smiths fascinating new book, Muses, Madmen and Prophets: Rethinking the History of Science and Meaning of Auditory Hallucination.
Muddy Thinking, The Guardian, 09/11/2007
More and more people like Peter Bullimore are turning their backs on the label of schizophrenia and its conventional treatments in an attempt to reclaim their lives.
'Schizophrenic' label doubles the torture felt by sufferers, The New Zealand Herald, 19/11/2007
Peter Bullimore still hears aggressive voices inside his head, but he has rejected the stigmatising label of "schizophrenia" and is now campaigning for it to be discarded.
Woman hears voices with a speech impediment, New Scientist magazine, 20/08/2007
Researchers claim a Swiss woman who fell off her bicycle has yielded a unique insight into how auditory hallucinations are generated.
Botschaften aus der anderen Welt, Frankfurter Rundschau, 17/07/2007
Stimmenhören ist für Justiz und Psychiatrie Symptom für eine Psychose. Oft ist es das tatsächlich. Aber es gibt auch Stimmenhörer, die noch nie in der Psychiatrie waren und sich mit ihren Stimmen arrangiert haben.
Trauma care, Boston Globe, 02/07/2007
For over 25 years, Harvard psychiatrists have helped and studied victims of many of the world's most devastating events. What they found is more heartening than you might think.
Hidden demons, The Guardian, 15/06/2007
Academic Benjamin Gray recalls his experiences of dealing with voices that other people could not hear.
Is 'voice-hearing' an act of lunacy, or are we ignorant to the plight of the sufferers?, Belfast Telegraph, 07/06/2007
This week's tragic case of a father in London attacking his young daughter has brought people who 'hear voices' into the spotlight.
Glad to be Mad, New Zealand Herald, May 14th 2007
The links are clear between insanity and creative genius, suggesting better ways might be found to help sufferers of mental disorders.
Mind over medicine, The Guardian, 11/05/2007
Mental health professionals should look beyond the medicalisation of psychosis and recognise the relevance of traumatic life events.
Hearing voices doesn't mean you're mentally ill, icwales, May 2, 2007
Psychologists at Bangor University are planning to delve into the psyches of people who hear voices, but are not mentally ill.
"The harmful concept of Schizophrenia", article by Marius Romme and Mervyn Morris published in Mental Health Nursing explaining why the term 'schizophrenia' is not just stigmatising, but also fundamentally flawed. See article here
Do you hear what I hear?: Psychology undertakes some new directions, Creative Loafing Atlanta, 04/04/2007
Daniel B. Smith's exploration of a grassroots British organization called the Hearing Voices Network is a mind-blowing deconstruction of our notions of normality.
Hearing Voices, Review of "Muses, Madmen and prophets", New York Times, 08/04/2007
What pain could have been avoided if only it had been clear that ... voices are not necessarily signals of mental illness.
Can hearing voices be a good thing? Local people urged to come forward, Manchester University, 03/04/2007
Psychologists at The University of Manchester are seeking more volunteers for their research into hearing voices, and why some people consider it a positive experience while others find it distressing.
Son attempts to reconcile a father's war within, San Francisco Chronicle, 02/04/2007
Smith focuses less on his father's experience of his voices and more on his notion that his father suffered from a pathologizing of voice-hearing in Western culture. To build his case, Smith reflects on earlier eras when voice-hearing was considered both real and powerful.
Voices carry, Boston Globe, 25/03/2007
The message and mystery of auditory hallucinations, from Moses to modern times.
Can You Live With the Voices in Your Head?, New York Times, 25/03/2007
In depth article about hearing voices and the development of the hearing voices movement by Daniel B. Smith from New York, USA.
The Independent on Sunday Mental health special edition: Guest editor, Rufus May, 18/03/2007
Mental health special edition edited by guest editor, Rufus May, mental health activist and INTERVOICE member.
Is there a link between madness and creativity?, Independent on Sunday, 18/03/2007.
Many illustrious thinkers and poets, including Shakespeare, have believed that genius is only a step away from insanity. John Walsh goes in search of evidence in our contemporary culture.
In Your Head: Hearing Voices, Psychology Today, 05/03/2007
People who hear voices in their heads don't always need psychiatric help. Sometimes the voices within can guide you in everyday life.
How I tamed the voices in my head, The Independent, 06/03/2007
When Eleanor Longden began hearing things, she soon found herself drugged, sectioned and labelled schizophrenic. Then a psychiatrist taught her how to talk back.
The harmful concept of Schizophrenia, Mental Health Nursing, 7 - 11 March 2007
Marius Romme and Mervyn Morris outline their suggestions for a more helpful and cause-related alternative to the harmful concept of schizophrenia.
Voices in your head? You may not be crazy, The Times (UK), 23/01/2007
Four per cent of people in the UK are said to hear voices. A new trial could help them.
2006
Top award for hearing voices group, Source: Sussex Partnership Trust, 01/12/2006
'Because of the way that the East Sussex Hearing Voices Groups were initiated by service users and depend entirely on the active participation and enthusiastic support of clients and carers, a Best of Health patients' panel awarded the Patient and Public Involvement Award to them.
Broken home linked to psychosis, BBC, 21/11/2006
People from broken homes may be more prone to psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia, research suggests.
Time to listen to the voices again, The Herald, 03/10/2006
Sounding out those voices that nobody else can hear, New Zealand Herald, 06/09/2006
Hearing voices when no one is there can be a symptom of mental illness, yet a study of the phenomenon found nearly half the people who heard voices said their hallucinations were mostly friendly or helpful.
Voices in the head 'are normal', BBC, 18/09/2006
Contrary to traditional belief, hearing voices is not necessarily a symptom of mental illness, UK researchers at Manchester University say.
'I learned to live with voices', BBC Online, 18/09/2006
Hearing voices has traditionally been viewed as a negative thing and a symptom of mental health problems, but new research has revealed not only do four percent of people hear voices, but some say that the voices are a positive part of their lives.
Listening to the voices, BBC, 14/09/2006
How can hearing voices in your head be a good thing? Researcher Aylish Campbell says voices are a natural part of life and that how it affects you depends how you react to the experience.
Study into millions who hear voices in head launched to coincide with WHVD, Press Association, 13/9/2006
Scientists in the UK are to investigate why so many "normal" people hear voices in their heads.
Hearing Voices - the invisible intruders, "All in the Mind", ABC Radio, 22/07/2006
The latest research on how auditory hallucinations occur in the brain, what it's like to live with voices in your head—and the healing power of the international Hearing Voices Network.
Child Abuse can Cause Schizophrenia, EurekAlert!, 13/06/2006
The experience of hearing voices is consistently associated with childhood trauma regardless of diagnosis or genetic pedigree.
Online information and support for voice hearers 3
Page updated 10/03/2008
Here we list some useful websites and online discussion forums providing information and support for people who hear voices, family members and workers:
Communicube
The Communicube is a 21st century multipurpose communication tool. Its first use was in therapy with individuals who struggle with psychotic experiences but it soon became apparent that the method could be useful to other clients. Indeed the Communicube is being further developed as a method in therapeutic work with children, adolescents, couples, families, groups, and in team building, education and play; it has other potential uses that are being explored.
Coming Off Psychiatric Meds website
This website aims to give you up to date information about psychiatric medication, how it functions and the withdrawal process. It is put together by people who have been prescribed medication and withdrawn from it, and clinicians who have been involved in supporting this process.
Hearing Voices Movement From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Hearing Voices Movement is a philosophical trend in how people who hear voices are viewed. They advocate an approach of using techniques employed by those who have successfully coped with their voices. This can include acceptance and negotiation with the voices.
hearvoices.org
www.hearvoices.org is a spiritual mission to hear and include all-through dreams, revelations and warm thoughts we chat with our
friends, families, and things…”
Hearing Voices Movement From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Hearing Voices Movement is a philosophical trend in how people who hear voices are viewed. They advocate an approach of using techniques employed by those who have successfully coped with their voices. This can include acceptance and negotiation with the voices.
Hearing Voices Fact sheet (aka auditory hallucinations)
What is it like to hear voices?
Are voices a symptom of illness or a variety of human experience?
Finding meaning in voices. Practical information for people who hear voices. Practical information for family, friends and mental health workers.
Hearing Voices Mailing List
This UK based online support group is for people who hear, or who have heard voices. You can share support, strategies for living with voices, and other ideas.
Informationen einer Stimmenhörerin für Betroffene, Angehörige und Interessierte
This is a website by an Austrian voice hearer. You can read texts she wrote about her own experiences with voices and about her aims within the voice hearing movement, find out about events in Austria, join a discussion forum,... it’s in German…
John Robinson -
Hearing Voices.net
An impressive online resource about hearing voices, includes information about hearing voices; information for carers; and some of the information translated into seven languages (well is is London). Has a disussion board which looks lively and a useful links page too.
Julian Jaynes Society
Articles by Julian Jaynes on hearing voices and related issues
MadNOTBad – Website for sharing experiences & creativity
Telling it like it is – from the people who know. This site is the realm of the mental health ‘Service User’ and those close to them – the carer, family or friend. By collating examples of their experiences, opinions and creativity I am hoping to help illuminate the darkness that surrounds mental ill health. To foster the idea that being ‘mad’ doesn’t make you ‘bad’ and that it’s ok to talk about it. Let’s challenge the stigma.
Stemmen horen/Hearing Voices
Mainly Dutch online resource about hearing voices, includes information about hearing voices; information for professionals, publications and carers; and biographies of Marius Romme and Sandra Escher.
Pat Deegan PhD & Associates
“The sea rose teaches us about recovery. Hope for recovery emerges from darkness.
Join us in our conspiracy of hope.”
Pat Deegan & Associates, LLC is a consumer/survivor/ex-patient run organization. Their mission is to improve the personal, social, economic and cultural well being of people with psychiatric disabilities through ex-patient directed study and research.
They also sell the one-hour film “Understanding the Person Who Hears Distressing Voices: A Course for First Responders”.
Talking About Hearing Voices
Established by Paul Baker over six years ago, the purpose of this forum is to encourage discussion and debate about the meaning of the voice hearing experience (auditory hallucinations) and to consider the latest research into this phenomenon. Mainly American contributors.
Voice Supporters Mailing List
This UK based online support group is for people who hear voices, and those who support them either as carers, friends, family members or professionals. Discussions can take place around subjects such as how to cope with voices, or how best to support those who hear voices – what is helpful, what is not helpful etc. This group is open to anyone interested in the subject of hearing voices.
Voice Hearers Action Group
This group has been set up for members of the Hearing Voices Mailing List, who are also interested in being more active on the issue. Possibilities are planning a conference for voice-hearers, responding to both positive and negative media representation of voice-hearing issues, sharing your own story with others with a view to awareness-raising.