This 'Family Tree' of the Hearing Voices Movement Shows Some of the Key

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

This 'Family Tree' of the Hearing Voices Movement Shows Some of the Key 2015 2016 Preparations are being made, by an The Western Balkans informal group based in Coimbra, for the Hearing Voices Network establishment of a Portuguese Hearing launched in the summer Voices Network. of 2015, covering Bosnia- 2014 2013 Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, and Slovenia. Réseau des Entendeurs de Voix Work is also underway in Poland and With the aim of building support for de Belgique 2012 The first hearing voices groups were also was established in Belgium Romania. the Hearing Voices Approach within the formed in the Czech Republic, Malta, following the example of the French, Swiss 2011 The first group was launched in Uganda, mental health system, voice-hearers from and Brazil. and Quebecois networks. The network arranged by Jim Taylor, an occupational Australia, the UK and other European A four-day event – Travailler et brings together people who hear voices therapist and psychosocial intervention nations, developed The Melbourne parler avec les voix – organised In Spain, Entrevoces was and supporting health professionals, with 2010 2009 worker, and Dave Baillie, a psychiatrist, Hearing Voices Declaration. by Yann Berobert, led to the establishment launched following the self-help groups in Brussels, Liège, Namur, through a link between an East London The Declaration was launched at the The Hellenic Hearing Voices Network of the French network. Normal Difference is a community- celebration of the seventh and Mons. Ariane De Mesmaeker is the mental health trust and Butabika Hospital World Hearing Voices Congress in in Greece works to provide support to based, mental health self-help international congress in Madrid network’s principal contact. in Kampala. Melbourne on Thursday 21st November people who hear voices and to promote group formed in Kariobangi, Kenya, 2013 and signed by 56 organisations. alternative approaches to voice hearing. in 2009. The group became part of Intervoice in October of that year. 2007 The Hearing Voices Network USA represents a partnership Voice Collective Le Pavois is a mental health 2006 between people who hear voices or have began to work across organisation based in Quebec, other unusual experiences, professionals, Greater London to support The first hearing voices Canada, whose work on hearing 2005 2002 and allies in the wider community. Its children and young people who hear groups in Ireland began voices was initiated by Brigitte Soucy in 2007. Norway Hearing Voices development has been driven by individuals The Danish Hearing Voices Network voices, see visions or have other unusual to meet, organised by Brian Hartnett. 2001 developed The organisation provides training and support, including Berta Britz, Oryx Cohen, Lisa was established in 2005, developing from sensory experiences. out of a congress held in Molden and as well as carrying out research and Voice-hearing groups have been running initiated by Geir Fredriksen, seminars, Forestell, Gail Hornstein, and Will Hall. conferences organised by Jørn Eriksen from evaluation projects. Together, these people are working to 2000 onwards. The network has played a at the hospital in Bethlehem, Palestine, and a self-help group in Tromsø since 2001. facilitated by psychiatric nurses Heidi Work began in Malaysia in 2007, supported by change assumptions, give support, and key role in highlighting stories of recovery provide learning opportunities. and challenging misconceptions about the Susann Emaus and Anne Martha Dr Abdul Kadir Abu Bakar. 1999 Hearing Voices Network Cymru voice-hearing experience. Kalhovde. Theresa Krummenacher founded works to raise awareness of Hearing Voices Network The The Richmond Fellowship of Western Mouvement Les Sans-Voix in Switzerland voice-hearing from a number of Aotearoa New Zealand 1998 was officially Australia, now known as Richmond in 1999. She also set up a group based in perspectives and supports locally- incorporated on World Hearing Voices Wellbeing, established the Hearing Voices Geneva and wrote a translation of the self- based groups across Wales. It was founded Day, 2007. It is chaired by Adrienne Giacon who Network Australia with support from Ron Netzwerk Stimmenhören, help guide ‘The Voice Inside’. by voice-hearer Hywel Davies with the works with Arana Pearson, a voice-hearer, on the Coleman and Karen Taylor. There are now the German network, has 130 members support of John Stacey, a psychiatric nurse. development of groups through New Zealand. regional networks in New South Wales, and an office in Berlin. The network grew Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania out of the work of Thomas Bock, Irene and Victoria. Stratenwerth, Günther Rieger, and Hannelore Klafki. Open meetings for voice-hearers began in the north of Sweden in 2005. Ami Rohnitz, Siv Hearing voices groups have been active Wetterberg, and Anneli Westling are Chairs of in Italy since 1998, after an initial meeting a Stockholm-based organization representing set up by psychiatrist Pino Pini and self- voice-hearers, professionals, and family help group organiser Donatella Micinesi. members and working to start new groups A national network was formalised in across the country. 2012, after a series of national and international conferences. The London Hearing Voices Project began work to increase the Hearing Voices in Scotland developed out number of groups in Greater London through of a local group in Dundee, driven by Pat awareness raising and training, building a Webster, a psychiatric nurse and mother network of over 40 groups by 2009. of a voice-hearer. 1997 Intervoice – the international hearing voices network – was formally established to provide administrative and co-ordinating support to the many and varied networks, groups, and initiatives across the world. 1996 Suomen Moniääniset Ry was formed in Finland. The network brings together hearing voices groups from across Finland, publishes quarterly newsletters, and offers a peer support telephone service. The development of a network in Japan was led by Wakio Sato, a psychologist This ‘family tree’ of the Hearing Voices Movement who became interested in voice hearing shows some of the key moments and individuals whilst working in the UK. A series of public in its growth. It is not possible here to tell the full meetings in 1996 grew from eight attendees in June, to 400 in December. story of all the courageous people who have been involved. 1992 To find out more please visit Intervoice Upper Austria www.intervoiceonline.org was formed through links with voice- hearers, researchers, and therapists in the Netherlands and UK.The initiative was led by Chuck Schneider, a psychotherapist, and psychologist Marlene Weiterschan. 1988 A hearing voices group was formed in Manchester by activist and voice-hearer Louise Pembroke and Paul Baker, a community development worker. Following national press coverage of a 1990 conference, the group grew into a national network of voice-hearers and individuals with an interest in the experience of hearing voices. Ron Coleman became the first national coordinator. 1987 The first national Hearing Voices Network was established in the Netherlands. Stichting Weerklank continues to be very active with over 200 members, a periodical, and regular meetings. The group was created following a national meeting of voice-hearers organised by Sandra Escher and Marius Romme. HtV_6.1FamilyTreeVinylGraphic_FINALedit.indd 1 26/10/2016 13:10.
Recommended publications
  • Neurodiversity Studies
    Neurodiversity Studies Building on work in feminist studies, queer studies, and critical race theory, this vol• ume challenges the universality of propositions about human nature, by questioning the boundaries between predominant neurotypes and ‘others’, including dyslexics, autistics, and ADHDers. This is the first work of its kind to bring cutting-edge research across disciplines to the concept of neurodiversity. It offers in-depth explorations of the themes of cure/ prevention/eugenics; neurodivergent wellbeing; cross-neurotype communication; neu• rodiversity at work; and challenging brain-bound cognition. It analyses the role of neuro-normativity in theorising agency, and a proposal for a new alliance between the Hearing Voices Movement and neurodiversity. In doing so, we contribute to a cultural imperative to redefine what it means to be human. To this end, we propose a new field of enquiry that finds ways to support the inclusion of neurodivergent perspectives in knowledge production, and which questions the theoretical and mythological assump• tions that produce the idea of the neurotypical. Working at the crossroads between sociology, critical psychology, medical humani• ties, critical disability studies, and critical autism studies, and sharing theoretical ground with critical race studies and critical queer studies, the proposed new field – neurodiversity studies – will be of interest to people working in all these areas. Hanna Bertilsdotter Rosqvist is an Associate Professor in Sociology and currently a Senior Lecturer in Social work at Södertörn University. Her recent research is around autism, identity politics, and sexual, gendered, and age normativity. She is the former Chief Editor of Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research. Nick Chown is a book indexer who undertakes autism research in his spare time.
    [Show full text]
  • Mental Distress and Public Representation
    Notes 1 Madness and the Popular Imagination 1. Despite the change of headline, the paper’s editor Rebbekah Wade was unprepared for the backlash from mental health and psychiatric user groups. Using press releases and Internet chat forums, the editor encoun- tered a storm of national and international protest about its stigmatizing of Bruno. So much so in fact, that the next day Bruno received the paper’s good wishes for his recovery (though no public apology) and a commit- ment to financial help. So apparently contrite was the Sun that it was reported that Marjorie Wallace of SANE would educate Wade in mental health issues (although ironically Wallace/SANE have been criticised by service users for their own stigmatizing media promotional practices – see Crossley, 2006, pp.192–9). 5 Visualising Madness: Mental Distress and Public Representation 1. Panorama: ‘Whose Mind Is It Anyway’ (broadcast BBC1, 1 March 1993). Panorama is the longest-running public affairs TV programme in the world. Broadcasting since 1965, it currently gets around five million view- ers and is still considered the BBC’s ‘flagship’ current affairs programme. 2. Disguises: ‘A Place of Safety’ (broadcast ITV, 25 February and 4 March 1993). Made by Granada TV, Disguises was launched in 1993 as the series that can ‘get to parts of a story others can’t reach’ (Granada publicity material for Disguises, March 1993). However, the format provoked strong reaction from critics concerned that its ‘voyeuristic’ appeal based on jour- nalist subterfuge and ‘spying’ with a hidden camera outweighed its public service merit (see Corner, 1995, pp.100–1).
    [Show full text]
  • The Concept of Recovery in Voice Hearers Attending Hearing Voices Group: a Single- Case Study
    The concept of recovery in voice hearers attending Hearing Voices group: a single- case study F.C.S. Rérat S1981803 Master Thesis Clinical Psychology Supervisor: Dr. H.M. Koopman Institute of Psychology University of Leiden 30-03-2018 Table of content 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 4 2. Method .............................................................................................................................. 9 2.1. Research design ......................................................................................................... 9 2.2 Population ................................................................................................................. 10 2.2.1 Recruitment and selection ................................................................................... 10 2.2.2 The HVG meetings .............................................................................................. 10 2.2.3 Case presentation ............................................................................................... 11 2.3 Procedures ................................................................................................................ 12 2.3.1 Questionnaires .................................................................................................... 12 2.3.2 Description of the sessions ................................................................................. 14 2.4 Statistical Analysis ....................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • What You're Not Hearing About the Hearing Voices Movement by Susan Inman
    Reprinted by NSSS with permission. Originally posted: 08/29/2015 9:40 am EDT (www.huffingtonpost.ca) What You're not Hearing About the Hearing Voices Movement by Susan Inman ecently the Hearing Voices Movement should reject the diagnosis and just work R (HVM) has been receiving a lot of very through their emotional problems. As well, positive press in Canada. The Globe and Mail, Romme believes that "anti-psychotic CBC's Tapestry program and the University of medication prevents the emotional processing British Columbia's alumni magazine TREK have and therefore healing, of the meaning of the offered similar kinds of stories. The public voices." finds out about the long known but not well- publicized fact that lots of people who have These can be very dangerous messages for auditory hallucinations don't have mental people who are struggling to understand and illnesses. Then we learn about someone who accept that they have serious brain disorders benefitted from the supportive atmosphere that will require careful management. that the Hearing Voices Movement's Although the Hearing Voices Movement has programs offers. We hear that this program been around for over 25 years, there is no helps people better manage their voices. research attesting to its benefits for people How could anyone object to such a helpful with mental illnesses. And operating from the use of our very limited mental health belief that medications interfere with budgets? recovery can have negative consequences; ample research demonstrates that the longer Some of us need to object because, by failing the period of untreated psychosis is for to differentiate between the needs of people people, the worse their outcomes are.
    [Show full text]
  • Abolishing the Concept of Mental Illness
    ABOLISHING THE CONCEPT OF MENTAL ILLNESS In Abolishing the Concept of Mental Illness: Rethinking the Nature of Our Woes, Richard Hallam takes aim at the very concept of mental illness, and explores new ways of thinking about and responding to psychological distress. Though the concept of mental illness has infiltrated everyday language, academic research, and public policy-making, there is very little evidence that woes are caused by somatic dysfunction. This timely book rebuts arguments put forward to defend the illness myth and traces historical sources of the mind/body debate. The author presents a balanced overview of the past utility and current disadvantages of employing a medical illness metaphor against the backdrop of current UK clinical practice. Insightful and easy to read, Abolishing the Concept of Mental Illness will appeal to all professionals and academics working in clinical psychology, as well as psychotherapists and other mental health practitioners. Richard Hallam worked as a clinical psychologist, researcher, and lecturer until 2006, mainly in the National Health Service and at University College London and the University of East London. Since then he has worked independently as a writer, researcher, and therapist. ABOLISHING THE CONCEPT OF MENTAL ILLNESS Rethinking the Nature of Our Woes Richard Hallam First published 2018 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2018 Richard Hallam The right of Richard Hallam to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
    [Show full text]
  • Resisting the Diagnostic Gaze
    Resisting the diagnostic gaze “We cannot abandon the injured or the maimed, thinking to ensure our own safety and sanity. We must reclaim them, as they are part of ourselves.” Brian Keenan Despite being promoted by the World Health Organisation and most Western institutions the psychiatric diagnostic system misrepresents people’s emotional problems. The Diagnostic process converts someones’s distress from a psychosocial problem into an individual problem. It takes the person’s experience out of their social and historical context and tries to categorise the evolving mental state into a fixed category. This suits the interests of the pharmaceutical industry who need to associate specific drugs to diagnostic categories but it does not serve the interests of the person on the receiving end. It has been well documented that diagnostic categories do not stand up to scientific scrutiny (see Boyle, 1987 Bentall, 2004). However despite this awareness, in practice psychiatric diagnosis continues to be seen as useful and important in understanding and treating mental health problems. The impact of diagnosis is huge on people’s lives. The diagnostic process has a similar psychological effect to assigning someone to a low social caste, having a significant influence on how the person sees themselves. For example if a person is given a diagnosis of schizophrenia they and the people around them can often acquire a learned hopelessness; similarly a young person given a diagnosis of bipolar disorder can resign themselves lifelong episodes of mania and depression; a spiritual experience can feel written off if it is described by clinicians as a delusion.
    [Show full text]
  • Kate Fenton Thesis Submitted in Partial Completion of The
    The role of empowerment in recovery from the experience of severe psychological distress: A grounded theory exploration Kate Fenton Thesis submitted in partial completion of the requirements of the award of Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology Department of Psychology Faculty of Health and Life Sciences University of the West of England, Bristol Thesis submitted November 2016 This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. Word count: 39999 Table of Contents Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………..………3 Abstract………………………………………………………………………………….……....4 1.0 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..….5-11 2.0 Literature Review……………………………………………………………………..12-34 3.0 Methodology and Reflexivity……………………………………………………. 35-41 4.0 Method…………………………………………………………………………………42-53 5.0 and 6.0 Results and Analysis……………………………………………. ……………54 5.1 Becoming disempowered…………………………………………………………....55-73 6.0 Becoming empowered……………………………………………………………..…74-91 7.0 Discussion…………………………………………………………………………....92-115 References………………………………………………………………………….…..116-143 Journal Article…………………………………………………………………………..144-160 Journal Article References…………………………………………………………161-169 Appendices…………………………………………………………………………….……..170 Table 1: Demographics of Interviewees……………………………………….170-171 Table 2: Demographics of Authors of Recovery Narratives……………….…...…........172 Table 3: Diagram Pathways of Empowerment and Disempowerment…….........173 Table 4: Transcript
    [Show full text]
  • Aapp 2017 Abstracts
    AAPP 2017 ABSTRACTS Association for the Advancement of Philosophy and Psychiatry. Annual Conference May 2017 Philosophical Perspectives on Critical Psychiatry: Challenges and Opportunities Rethinking Insight: What Does It Mean to Be Aware of Illness When Awareness Doesn’t Map to Concept of Illness? Kathleen Lowenstein Once considered paradigmatic of a schizophrenia diagnosis, poor insight is a common clinical problem in individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia or other psychotic spectrum disorders. Denying that they are ill and consequently refusing treatment, individuals suffering from poor insight often end up mired in protracted and contentious engagement with frustrated family members and treatment providers. As such, individuals presenting with poor insight constitute one of the most challenging patient populations among those with a schizophrenia diagnosis. The dilemma posed by individuals presenting with poor insight is generally considered to result from lack of treatment, rather than failure of an epistemological framework. However, the work of psychiatric service users highlights the way in which the concept of poor insight is itself indicative of competing epistemological frameworks. Critical psychiatry has challenged the role of master narratives and the way in which traditional framing of mental illness frequently excludes or diminishes the perspectives of psychiatric service users. Central to this conversation has been a focus on the role of meaning in both interpretation of and recovery from extreme states of consciousness. A central tenet of the Hearing Voices Network is that voices demand interpretation. As much work by and with psychiatric service users suggests, the ability of an individual to find meaning in and make meaning of their experiences is often central to their identity and, more broadly, to recovery from states that, in standard medical narratives of psychosis, are frequently presented as arising from neurological dysfunction and thus constituted as essentially meaningless.
    [Show full text]
  • Hearing Voices
    sp ecial issue: Hearing Voices News from the Joan of Arc Project July – September 2006 The Joan of Arc Project 59 Magdalen Street Exeter EX2 4HY tel : (01392) 204495 mobile : 07855 633304 fax : 01392 204494 e-mail : [email protected] Editorial: This relatively small collection of some subjective accounts of 'voice hearing' alongside some of the interests of some 'professionals' is not intended to be at all definitive. Rather, it represents but one small cross-section of the views of these people affected in different ways by 'voices'. It is hoped that by reading these articles together, an appreciation of how voices can impact upon people's lives may be gained. Such insight is often claimed but is the experience of voice hearing ever really understood ? Thanks to the honesty, frankness and spirit of the 'experts-by-experience' for providing their accounts. It is hoped that 'carers' reading this issue will appreciate and respect their sense of altruism. They have already come a long way. Thanks also to the carers who have provided access to their under-standing of voice hearing. Their commitment also deserves respect. Non-voice hearers may gain knowledge by reading this special issue of the Joan of Arc Newsletter. Voice hearers may also benefit by learning about other hearers' voices and experiences as well as from carers' viewpoints. Hopefully, the message in the following pages will suggest that both enquiry and support; empathy and hope are becoming increasingly available from those who care about others who suffer with voices. This appears to be gaining momentum at local, national and international levels.
    [Show full text]
  • Hearing Voices” and Exceptional Experiences Renaud Evrard
    From symptom to difference: “hearing voices” and exceptional experiences Renaud Evrard To cite this version: Renaud Evrard. From symptom to difference: “hearing voices” and exceptional experiences. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, Society for Psychical Research (Great Britain), 2014, 78 (3), pp.129-148. halshs-02137157 HAL Id: halshs-02137157 https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-02137157 Submitted on 22 May 2019 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. FROM SYMPTOM TO DIFFERENCE: “HEARING VOICES” AND EXCEPTIONAL EXPERIENCES By RENAUD EVRARD ABSTRACT Traditionally considered psychopathological auditory-verbal hallucinations, the voices heard by patients, but also by many people from the general population, are currently the subject of much attention from researchers, clinicians and public authorities. One might think that voice hearing is a psychopathological experience that has little to do with parapsychological phenomenology, except when information is ostensibly acquired paranormally under the form of a voice. But paranormal and spiritual interpretations of voices are ubiquitous in many studies of voice hearing, and even are outstanding examples of salutogenic appraisals of psychotic-like experiences. The research on the type of appraisal along the axes of internal / external or personal / impersonal provides direct guidance on clinical intervention strategies.
    [Show full text]
  • Paradigms of Hearing Voices in the Narrative
    Dimitra Lattas Abstract: “Paradigms of Hearing Voices in the Narrative of Henry’s Demons, A Father and Son’s Journey Out of Madness” This thesis explores the testimony of someone who hears voices, and analyses how it is framed discursively within a co-authored life-writing format. There is a long history of reports of voices appearing within a person’s mind and without an apparent speaker. Each culture and time has had a somewhat different interpretation of this phenomenon. For the most part it has been considered an abnormal experience; something to be held either in awe or in dread, as mysticism, shamanism, demonic possession or, more recently, as mental illness. In Western modernity, there is debate on how to explain and respond to these experiences. Most contemporary understandings have been confined to scientific and medical interpretations of voice hearing, in which it is treated as auditory hallucinations, symptomatic of psychoses, often diagnosed as schizophrenia and thus in need of treatment under the careful watch of psychiatry. More recently, however, the routines of medical diagnosis and treatment have been disputed by the Recovery Movement, the Mad Studies Movement (LeFrançois, Menzies & Réaume, 2013) and the Hearing Voices Movement (McCarthy-Jones, 2012; Romme & Escher, 1989). The Hearing Voices Movement founder Dr Marius Romme likens the cultural status of the voice hearing community to that of the pre-1960s homosexual community, whose normal human experiences were classed as deviant, and whose social oppression was justified through the discourse of mental illness. Here, Henry’s narrative is considered in the light of such claims of normality and abnormality.
    [Show full text]
  • International Perspectives in Values-Based Mental Health Practice
    International Perspectives in Values-Based Mental Health Practice Case Studies and Commentaries Drozdstoy Stoyanov Bill Fulford Giovanni Stanghellini Werdie Van Staden Michael TH Wong Editors 123 International Perspectives in Values-Based Mental Health Practice Drozdstoy Stoyanov • Bill Fulford Giovanni Stanghellini • Werdie Van Staden Michael TH Wong Editors International Perspectives in Values-Based Mental Health Practice Case Studies and Commentaries Editors Drozdstoy Stoyanov Bill Fulford Medical University Plovdiv St Catherine’s College Plovdiv, Bulgaria University of Oxford Oxford, United Kingdom Giovanni Stanghellini Department of Psychological, Health & Werdie Van Staden Territorial Sciences Centre for Ethics and Philosophy of Health “G. D’Annunzio” University Sciences Chieti Scalo, Italy University of Pretoria Pretoria, South Africa Michael TH Wong Department of Psychiatry, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine The University of Hong Kong Hong Kong, China This book is an open access publication. ISBN 978-3-030-47851-3 ISBN 978-3-030-47852-0 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47852-0 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2021 Open Access This book is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this book are included in the book's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material.
    [Show full text]