head head Autumn 2009 FREE Magazine of WA Mental Health Recovery Hearing Voices Helen Morton MLC Walking Towards Recovery Music and Anti-stigma Finding a Home Contents Contents Headlines Feature Hearing Voices 4 The theme of this edition is recovery. My Story of Recovery 7 You will gather from the articles that Helen Morton MLC 8 recovery is a journey that is distinct WA Mental Health Reforms 9 for each individual. Recovery means Journeys Flying Overdownunder 10 more than simply the absence of Walking Towards Recovery 11 illness; it encompasses a person’s Anti-stigma WA Musicians Voice an 13 Anti-stigma Message mental and physical wellbeing, social participation and acceptance, Reform Looking Back, Looking Forward 14 development of resilience, sense of Finding a Home 15 Addressing Homelessness 15 meaning and hope. New Research Loneliness, a Harsh Reality 16 Hon Helen Morton MLC, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister From the Neck Down 16 for Mental Health, who launched Head2Head and is pictured Unlocking the History of Graylands 17 here with me, informs us in our feature profile about new State Metabolic Syndrome 17 Government initiatives to assist in recovery. Tried and Tested Gratitude Journal 18 The magazine also highlights the importance of artistic Meditation and Me 18 Joy Walking 19 creation and music as positive forms of expression, coping and connection. Consumer Participation A Portrait of Art Therapy in WA 20 Proving the Practice 21 The cover artwork is by Perth sculptor Simon Gilby. According to Empowering Consumers 21 Simon, the piece, entitled “Leap,” is “about the transition from Thriving, Not Just Surviving 22 one place to another, the dark unknown, a leap of faith and the Growing Towards Wellness 23 hope of resurrection. It is about being brave.” While “Leap” is Resources The HURT Project 24 about spiritual transition, like any artistic work, it resonates on Good Outcomes Wright Outcomes 25 many levels. It symbolises for me key elements of the recovery Perspectives Unravelling Her 26 journey. 27 Caring. From the Heart! Agency Updates 28 What Else? 30 Reviews 32 Dr Steve Patchett Feature Review Questions Without Notice 34 Executive Director, Mental Health Diary Dates 34 4 10 Head2Head is produced by the Mental Health Division of the Department of Health and is published in autumn, winter and summer. Editor: Duc Dau Mental Health Division, Department of Health Tel: (08) 9222 4072 Fax: (08) 9222 2351 Email: [email protected] Views expressed in Head2Head are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of the Department of Health. While reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the information in Head2Head is obtained from reliable sources, no responsibility can be accepted by the magazine for its accuracy. The editors reserve 23 26 the right to review, edit or exclude any material submitted. Articles may be copied; acknowledgement must be given to the Department of Health. Head2Head is available online at www.health.wa.gov.au/mentalhealth Head2Head is available in alternative formats upon request from a person with a disability. Cover: “Leap” by Simon Gilby, courtesy of Lloyd and Liz Horn. Visit www.simongilby.com.au Head2 Head 3 Feature Hearing Voices Some people hear voices. Sometimes the experience of hearing voices can be positive, at other times distressing. “Crosscurrent” by Jillian Ciemitis, www.ciemitis.com Social and medical responses to voice Paul Baker, Trevor Eyles and Dr Dirk Paul Baker hearers and their voices have been, and Corstens are part of the Hearing Voices Paul Baker, the Coordinator of Intervoice, continue to be, varied. movement, which has led to the formation works for change. of groups such as Intervoice and the People who hear voices are often Hearing Voices Network. This evident in what he says of US diagnosed with schizophrenia. President Barack Obama. “Obama’s Head2Head interviewed three international People who hear voices background is in community organisation voice hearing experts who recently and development. Participation and participated in the Recovery from are often diagnosed with empowerment were key values in his Psychosis: International Recovery schizophrenia. election campaign. He had a clear idea of Conference, held in Perth late last year. his mission. Is change necessary? Yes! Is The conference was hosted by the These groups encourage voice hearers to it possible to change? Yes! This is also the Richmond Fellowship of WA. Sponsors accept, understand and talk about their aim of community development—is what included the Department of Health’s voices, and to communicate with their we’re doing the best thing we can do? And Mental Health Division. voices as part of their recovery. are we doing it in the best way?” 4 Head2 Head Feature Like Obama, Paul has a background in “In mainstream clinical training, we’re Trevor went on to help establish community development, which informs taught to distract someone from the voice Denmark’s first Hearing Voices Group. his work in mental health campaigning. they’re hearing. On the contrary, we think Within months he established a second “We need flexible ways of working and that this denies the experience and that group, and by six months a third. open-mindedness in the ways we relate to it’s better to engage someone and let In creating each group, Trevor felt it was people,” he says. them talk about their voices. This works imperative to consult with voice hearers as because people like the opportunity to talk experts of their own experience. “We want people to explore about their experiences. According to Trevor, hearing voices is a “Over the past 15 years in England we their experience and have very individual experience. “No two voice have seen the growth from one Hearing their own explanations hearers are the same, and no two voices Voices Group to 180! The idea is to make are the same,” he says. about the voices.” each group an absolutely safe place and that what is said in the group stays in Like Professor Marius Romme, Trevor Paul’s introduction to community the group. believes the experience of hearing voices development began at university in the is not uncommon and that people without “Unlike many self help groups, we don’t UK where he worked as a community a diagnosable mental illness can hear limit the number of sessions. There is no volunteer. “When I left Uni, I worked voices and remain untroubled by them. time limit, and it’s run by people who’ve for two years engaging students in the “Many people hear positive voices, but had that experience for people who have community they lived in. We had a great what we see is that people who seek help that experience. deal of fun and worked with all kinds for voice hearing tend to hear negative of people. “I’ve been involved in the Hearing Voices voices.” movement for the last 18 years or so, and “We also had a project in a rehabilitation Negative voices are likely to be derogatory I’ve seen it develop from a small seed into ward of a large psychiatric hospital. We and threatening, and are often concerned something quite large. would take people out of the hospital, with guilt, shame, self esteem, threat and for example on a fishing trip or to the “We are very recovery oriented. We have power. pub—these were people who’d been in a lot of people who have moved on and hospital for 20 years! People opened up would say that they no longer have an “Voices tend to develop as when we took them out of the hospital. issue. Even those who still hear voices an emotional defence, as an “So I was involved quite early on with would probably say that they have much people with mental health issues, but I more control over the voices now. It’s emotional response to some never had any clinical experience. I came a journey. sort of trauma.” at it as a community organiser. I’ve always “Partnership is the way that we work. Not There is no definitive explanation as to thought that mental health services need many organisations have this basis.” to engage with the local community and why people hear voices, though Trevor harness available resources by giving believes that over 70 percent of voices individuals opportunities to act as Trevor Eyles originate during times of trauma or life volunteers or interns.” Originally from the UK, Trevor Eyles has crises. been living in Denmark for the past 20 Paul attended the annual Intervoice “Voices tend to develop as an emotional years. Trevor has a background in social meeting which was hosted late last year defence, as an emotional response to psychiatry and has trained as a psychiatric by the Hearing Voices Network Australia. some sort of trauma. They could act as nurse and gestalt psychotherapist. He is “We wanted to use the opportunity to warnings, represent perpetrators of abuse, currently a consultant and project leader. support this relatively new network. I flew and be expressions of the emotions. over here from Scotland with 14 people, Trevor’s introduction to the field of voice “Emotional issues are central to the 10 of whom hear voices. hearing began at a conference where he experiences of hearing voices. Voices can met psychiatrist Professor Marius Romme “We work as allies—we don’t push an be heard by people who have difficulty (Dutch founder of the Hearing Voices agenda onto voice hearers about the right expressing anger. They can be a form of movement), researcher Dr Sandra Escher, or wrong way of seeing an experience. We self harm in which the abuse is turned and mental health trainer Ron Coleman want people to explore their experience within.” who introduced himself as a “former and have their own explanations about Trevor believes that “the important thing is schizophrenic.” the voices.