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'''Hearing Voices Movement''' is a philosophical trend in how people who [[auditory hallucination|hear voices]] are viewed. It was begun by [[Marius Romme]], a professor of [[social psychiatry]] at the [[University of Limburg]] in [[Maastricht]], the [[Netherlands]]; and [[Sandra Escher]], a science journalist, who began this work after being challenged by Patsy Hage, a voice hearer as to why they could not accept the reality of her voice hearing experience.
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{{expert-subject|1=Psychology|date=April 2014}}
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{{refimprove|article relies heavily on [[WP:PRIMARY|primary sources]] that are not fully cited and|date=April 2014|talk=Page revamp}}
'''Hearing Voices Movement''' is a philosophical trend in how people who [[auditory hallucination|hear voices]] are viewed. It was started by [[Marius Romme]] and [[Sandra Escher]]. The movement challenges the [[medical model of disability|medical model]] of mental illness, rejects the stigma and pathologisation of hearing voices, and advocates for individualized recovery methods.


==History and tenets==
Supporters of the Hearing Voices Movement advocate the use of techniques employed by those who have successfully coped with their voices. This can include acceptance and negotiation with the voices.
The Hearing Voices Movement was established in 1987 by Romme and Escher, both from the Netherlands, with the formation of Stichting Weerklank (Foundation Resonance), an organization for people who hear voices. In 1988, the [[Hearing Voices Network]] was established in England with the active support of Romme.<ref>James, 2001</ref>{{better source|primary source with incomplete citation information|date=April 2014}} Since then, networks have been established in other countries including Italy, Finland, Wales, Scotland, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Japan, Israel, New Zealand, Australia, and the USA.


In 1997, a meeting of voice hearers and [[mental health]] workers was held in Maastricht to discuss developing the further promotion and research into the topic of voice hearing. The meeting decided to create a formal organizational structure to provide administrative and coordinating support to the wide variety of initiatives in the different involved countries.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}} The new network was called INTERVOICE (The International Network for Training, Education and Research into Hearing Voices). INTERVOICE holds annual steering group meetings, encourages and supports exchanges and visits between member countries and the translation and publication of books and other literature on the subject of hearing voices. INTERVOICE was incorporated in 2007 as a non-profit company under UK law.
==The Movement==
The Hearing Voices Movement can be said to have been established in 1987, by Romme and Escher, both from the Netherlands, with the formation of Stichting Weerklank (Foundation Resonance), an organization for voice hearers and others interested in this phenomenon. In 1988, an organization The [[Hearing Voices Network]] was established in England, with the active support of Romme.<ref>James, 2001</ref> In following years, further networks have been established in other countries including Italy, Finland (1995), Wales, Scotland, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, Germany (1998), Norway, Denmark, Japan (1996), Israel, New Zealand, Australia and the USA (2006).


INTERVOICE is supported by people who hear voices, relatives and friends and mental health professionals including nurses, psychiatrists and psychologists.{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}} INTERVOICE members assert that the most important factor in the success of their approach is the importance placed on the personal engagement of the people involved, meaning that all participants are considered an expert of their own experience.{{Citation needed|date=April 2014}}
In 1997 a meeting of voice hearers and [[mental health]] workers was held in Maastricht to discuss developing the further promotion and research into the issue of voice hearing. The meeting decided to create a formal organizational structure to provide administrative and coordinating support to the wide variety of initiatives in the different involved countries. The new network was called INTERVOICE (The '''I'''nternational '''N'''etwork for '''T'''raining, '''E'''ducation and '''R'''esearch into Hearing '''Voice'''s). INTERVOICE holds annual steering group meetings, encourages and supports exchanges and visits between member countries and the translation and publication of books and other literature on the subject of hearing voices. INTERVOICE was incorporated in 2007 as a not for profit company under UK law. Its president is Marius Romme.


The Hearing Voices Movement regards itself as being a post-psychiatric organisation,<ref>Bracken, 2005; Stastny/Peter Lehmann, 2007</ref>{{better source|primary source with incomplete citation information|date=April 2014}} positioning itself outside of the mental health world in recognition that voices are an aspect of human difference, rather than a mental health problem, and that one of the main issues is about [[human rights]].
INTERVOICE is supported by people who hear voices, relatives and friends and mental health professionals including nurses, psychiatrists and psychologists.{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}} INTERVOICE members assert that the most important factor in the success of their approach is the importance placed on the personal engagement of the people involved, meaning that all participants are considered an expert of their own experience. They see each other first as people, secondly as equal partners, and thirdly as all having different but mutually valuable expertise to offer. This can either be through direct experience of hearing voices or having worked with voice hearers (and/or a desire to be involved).


The Hearing Voices Movement seeks [[holistic health]] solutions to problematic and overwhelming voices that cause mental distress. Based on their research,{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}} the movement espouses that many people successfully live with their voices and that in themselves voices are not the problem.
INTERVOICE is critical of [[psychiatry]] in relation to the way the profession generally understands and treats people who hear voices and holds that their research has led them to the position that [[schizophrenia]] is an unscientific and unhelpful hypothesis which should be abandoned.<ref>Romme, 2006</ref>

The Hearing Voices Movement regards itself as being a post-psychiatric organisation,<ref>Bracken, 2005; Stastny/Peter Lehmann, 2007</ref> positioning itself outside of the mental health world in recognition that voices, in their view, are an aspect of human differentness, rather than a mental health problem and that, as with [[homosexuality]] (also regarded by psychiatry in historical times as an illness), one of the main issues is about [[human rights]]. As with homosexuality, members of the movement intend to change the way society perceives the experience, and psychiatry's attitude will follow.

The Hearing Voices Movement is also seeking more [[holistic health]] solutions to problematic and overwhelming voices that cause mental distress than what it regards as the generally [[reductionist]], [[disease]] based model offered by mainstream psychiatry. Based on their research,{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}} they hold the opinion that many people successfully live with their voices and that in themselves voices are not the problem. For this reason they are prepared to accept a range of explanations offered by people who hear voices, including spiritual ones and assert that recovery (see [[recovery model]]) from overwhelming voices can be achieved by seeking to understand the meaning of the voices to the voice hearer. This approach informed the 2005 television documentary ''Voices in My Head'' (2005) by British director [[David Malone (independent filmmaker)|David Malone]] made for UK's [[Channel Four]].<ref>[http://www.becauseyouthink.tv/directors/detail.asp?dID=3. "David Malone - Soul Searching, Testing God" at becauseyouthink.tv]</ref>

A detailed and neutral account of the significance of the Hearing Voice Movement entitled [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/magazine/25voices.t.html?pagewanted=1 "Can You Live With the Voices in Your Head?"] was published in ''[[New York Times Magazine]]'' in 2007. Its author Daniel B. Smith writes that the movement's
:brief against psychiatry can be boiled down to two core positions. The first is that many more people hear voices, and hear many more kinds of voices, than is usually assumed. The second is that auditory hallucination — or “voice-hearing,” H.V.N.’s more neutral preference — should be thought of not as a pathological phenomenon in need of eradication but as a meaningful, interpretable experience, intimately linked to a hearer’s life story and, more commonly than not, to unresolved personal traumas.


===Position===
===Position===
The position of the hearing voices movement can be summarised as follows:
The position of the hearing voices movement can be summarised as follows:{{Citation needed|date=April 2014}}


*Hearing voices is not ''in itself'' a sign of [[mental illness]].
*Hearing voices is not ''in itself'' a sign of [[mental illness]].
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*If hearing voices causes distress, the person who hears the voices can learn strategies to cope with the experience. Coping is often achieved by confronting the past problems that lie behind the experience.
*If hearing voices causes distress, the person who hears the voices can learn strategies to cope with the experience. Coping is often achieved by confronting the past problems that lie behind the experience.


==Movement history==
==Theory overview==
The work of Romme and Escher<ref>Romme and Escher (1989, 90, 91, 92, '94, '97, '98, '99)</ref>{{better source|reason=Primary source without complete citation information|date=April 2014}} provides a theoretical framework for the movement. They find that:
In an overview of the challenging new research and practise initiatives developing across Europe,<ref>Baker (2000) in ''OpenMind''</ref> Baker charts the progress made from a view of voice hearing as bizarre and dangerous<ref>R Cochrane, ''BMJ'' 1994</ref> towards a recognition of voices as real, meaningful, and related to people's lives. This recognises that the experience can be overwhelming and deeply distressing, but also, that the attempt to understand their meaning can be part of a solution.


# Not everyone who hears voices becomes a patient. Over a third of 400 voice hearers in the Netherlands they studied had not had any contact with [[psychiatric services]]. These people either described themselves as being able to cope with their voices and/or described their voices as life enhancing.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}
===Romme and Escher===
# Romme cites demographic research<ref>Including studies by A. Y. Tien (1991) and Eaton W.W. et al. (1991)</ref>{{better source|reason=Primary source without complete citation information|date=April 2014}} indicating that hearing voices in itself is not a symptom of an illness, but is apparent in 2–4% of the population (some research gives higher estimates);<ref>{{cite book|last=Jardri, Thomas, Cachia & Pins|title=The Neuroscience of hallucinations|year=2013|publisher=Springer Science + Business Media|location=New York|pages=21–41|url=http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:nr1QyuNoQQgJ:www.springer.com/cda/content/document/cda_downloaddocument/9781461441205-c1.pdf%3FSGWID%3D0-0-45-1346111-p174325264+&cd=9&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us}}</ref> and even more (about 8%) have peculiar [[delusion]]s and do so without being ill.
The work of Romme and Escher<ref>Romme and Escher (1989, 90, 91, 92, '94, '97, '98, '99)</ref> provides a theoretical framework for these new initiatives, and provides much of the impetus for the self-help movement in recent years. They demonstrate:
# People who cope well with their voices and those who did not show clear differences in terms of the nature of the relationship they had with their voices.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}
# People who cope better also used different strategies to manage their voices.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}
# 70% of voice hearers reported that their voices had begun after a severe [[Psychological trauma|traumatic]] or intensely emotional event,<ref>{{cite book|last=Jardri, Thomas, Cachia & Pins|title=The Neuroscience of hallucinations|year=2013|publisher=Springer Science + Business Media|location=New York|pages=21–41|url=http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:nr1QyuNoQQgJ:www.springer.com/cda/content/document/cda_downloaddocument/9781461441205-c1.pdf%3FSGWID%3D0-0-45-1346111-p174325264+&cd=9&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us}}</ref> such as an accident, divorce or bereavement, sexual or physical abuse, love affairs, or pregnancy. Romme and colleagues found that the onset of voice hearing amongst a patient group was preceded by either a traumatic event or an event that activated the memory of an earlier trauma.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}} Specifically, there was a high correlation between voice hearing and abuse.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}} These findings are being substantiated further in an on-going study with voice hearing amongst children.<ref>Escher (2001)</ref>{{better source|reason=Primary source without complete citation information|date=April 2014}}
# Some people who hear voices have a deep need to construct a personal understanding for their experiences and to talk to others about it without being designated as [[Insanity|mad]].{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}


Romme and colleagues find that people who hear voices can be helped using [[cognitive behaviour therapy]] (CBT) and [[self-help]] methods.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}
# Not everyone who hears voices becomes a patient. Over a third of 400 voice hearers in the Netherlands had not had any contact with [[psychiatric services]]. These people either described themselves as being able to cope with their voices and/or described their voices as life enhancing.
# Romme cites demographic research<ref>Including studies by A. Y. Tien (1991) and Eaton W.W. et al. (1991)</ref> indicating that hearing voices in itself is not a symptom of an illness, but is apparent in 2–4% of the population (some research gives higher estimates);<ref>{{cite book|last=Jardri, Thomas, Cachia & Pins|title=The Neuroscience of hallucinations|year=2013|publisher=Springer Science + Business Media|location=New York|pages=21–41|url=http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:nr1QyuNoQQgJ:www.springer.com/cda/content/document/cda_downloaddocument/9781461441205-c1.pdf%3FSGWID%3D0-0-45-1346111-p174325264+&cd=9&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us}}</ref> and even more (about 8%) have peculiar personal convictions, also known as [[delusion]]s, and do so without being ill. His own research has provided further verification of this.
# Comparisons between people. People who cope well with their voices and those who did not show clear differences in terms of the nature of the relationship they had with their voices.
# People who cope better also differed in terms of the kinds of strategies they adopted to manage their voices and its personal impact.
# 70% of voice hearers reported that their voices had begun after a severe [[Psychological trauma|traumatic]] or intensely emotional event,<ref>{{cite book|last=Jardri, Thomas, Cachia & Pins|title=The Neuroscience of hallucinations|year=2013|publisher=Springer Science + Business Media|location=New York|pages=21–41|url=http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:nr1QyuNoQQgJ:www.springer.com/cda/content/document/cda_downloaddocument/9781461441205-c1.pdf%3FSGWID%3D0-0-45-1346111-p174325264+&cd=9&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us}}</ref> such as an accident, divorce or bereavement, sexual or physical abuse, love affairs, or pregnancy. Romme et al. (1998) found that the onset of voice hearing amongst a 'patient' group was preceded by either a traumatic event or an event that activated the memory of an earlier trauma. There was a high association with abuse. These findings are being substantiated further in an on-going study with voice hearing amongst children.<ref>Escher (2001)</ref>
# Some people who hear voices, regardless of being able to cope with this or not, may have a burning need to construct a personal understanding for their experiences and to talk to others about it without being designated as [[Insanity|mad]].
# A long-term developmental process of psychological adjustment was identified by surveying the considerable range of experience and the negotiation methods that people reported. Romme<ref>Romme (1991, 1998)</ref> has developed this approach with several studies showing that hearing voices can be associated with memories of emotionally 'undigested' events, usually connected with key relationships.


Romme theorizes a three phase model of recovery:{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}
Romme et al. (1999) finds that these important connections can be addressed using [[cognitive behaviour therapy]] (CBT) and [[self-help]] methods.
* Startling {{ndash}} Initial confusion; emotional chaos, fear, helplessness and psychological turmoil.
* Organization {{ndash}} The need to find meaning, arrive at some understanding and acceptance. The development of ways of coping and accommodating voices in everyday living. This task may take months or years and is marked by the attempt to enter into active negotiation with the voice(s).
* Stabilisation {{ndash}} The establishment of equilibrium, and accommodation, with the voice(s), and the consequent re-[[empowerment]] of the person.


Romme describes a three phase model of recovery.
==Alternative to medical model of disability==
The Hearing Voices Movement disavows the [[medical model of disability]] and disapproves of the practises of [[mental health]] services through much of the [[Western World]], such as treatment solely with medication. For example, some service users have reported negative experiences of mental health services because they are discouraged from talking about their voices as these are seen solely as symptoms of psychiatric illness.<ref>Romme (1997)</ref>{{better source|reason=Primary source without complete citation information|date=April 2014}} Slade and Bentall conclude that the failure to attend to hallucinatory experiences and/or have the opportunity for dialogue about them is likely to have the effect of helping to maintain them.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}
* Startling. Initial confusion; emotional chaos, fear, helplessness and psychological turmoil.
* Organization. The need to find meaning, arrive at some understanding and acceptance. The development of ways of coping and accommodating voices in everyday living. This task may take months or years and is marked by the attempt to enter into active negotiation with the voice(s).
* Stabilisation. The establishment of equilibrium, and accommodation, with the voice(s), and the consequent re-[[empowerment]] of the person.


In ''Voices of Reason, Voices of Insanity'',<!---This is a Book Title! Leave caps and do not place links within the title.---> Leudar and Thomas review nearly 3,000 years of voice-hearing history, including that of [[Socrates]], [[Daniel Paul Schreber|Schreber]], and Janet's patient 'Marcelle', amongst others.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}} They argue that the Western World has moved the experience of hearing voices from a socially valued context to a pathologised and denigrated one. [[Michel Foucault|Foucault]] has argued that this process can generally arise when a minority perspective is at odds with dominant [[social norms]] and beliefs.{{Citation needed|date=April 2014}}
===Leudar and Thomas===
Leudar and Thomas (2000): ''Voices of Reason, Voices of Insanity'',<!---This is a Book Title! Leave caps and do not place links within the title.---> review almost 3,000 years of voice-hearing history, including that of [[Socrates]], [[Daniel Paul Schreber|Schreber]], and Janet's patient 'Marcelle', amongst others, to show how we have moved the experience from a socially valued context to a pathologised and denigrated one. [[Michel Foucault|Foucault]] has argued that this process can generally arise when a minority perspective is at variance with dominant [[social norms]] and beliefs.

==Criticisms==
A criticism might be that the whole movement makes the case that schizophrenia is caused by childhood trauma. The general consensus in the medical community is that predisposition to schizophrenia and other common mental disorders is caused by genetic and chemical anomalies.

However, the movement doesn't state that childhood trauma causes schizophrenia. The philosophy of this movement is that there are people who are wired to hear voices - "voice hearers" - and that those voices have personal meaning to the voice hearer. Rather than living in fear of the voices and trying to suppress them, the voice hearer is encouraged to engage the voices and, by doing so, to learn more about him or herself. The voices are a real auditory manifestation for the voice hearer. They might be labeled invalid by non voice hearers in that there is not another person generating the voices apart from the voice hearer. However, a key point for the movement is that they are valid in that a part of the voice hearer's psyche is externally manifested in the voices and a lot can be learned from them. Past trauma often influences the evolution of the voices, but not always. Sometimes they can be positive.

To complicate things, in recent years there has been a significant body of literature challenging the traditionally accepted view that schizophrenia is a genetically determined brain disorder.<ref>http://roar.uel.ac.uk/1268/</ref> An alternate view, which suggests that the diagnosis of schizophrenia is not a valid or reliable diagnostic concept <ref>http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306987705005098</ref> is now being considered much more seriously by mental health practitioners and researchers alike.

==Alternative to medical model==
The Hearing Voices Movement reflects significant disenchantment with the [[medical model]] and the practises of [[mental health]] services through much of the [[Western World]].

Brown et al. (1998) finds that 23% of people diagnosed with a [[psychotic]] illness experience positive symptoms that are resistant to medication. It has been reported that only a minority (roughly 35%) obtain significant benefits from [[antipsychotic drugs|antipsychotic drug]] treatment.<ref>Romme (1999)</ref> Further, there is a range of secondary problems and withdrawal effects associated with both traditional and atypical antipsychotic drugs.<ref>Tarrier (1999)</ref>

The movement also focuses on the complexity of the experience of hearing voices. In addition, emotional problems (such as [[clinical depression|depression]] and [[anxiety]]) are found in 25–40% of those diagnosed with psychosis,<ref>Johnstone et al. (1991)</ref> and the risk of suicide is increasingly recognised.<ref>Briera (1996)</ref>

Apart from the issue of medical effectiveness, 'getting better' must be as much a personal process, to do with the nature of the experience, as a medical one.<ref>Boyle (1990)</ref> Many service users have reported negative experiences of mental health services because they are discouraged from talking about their voices as these are seen solely as symptoms of psychiatric illness.<ref>Romme (1997)</ref>

Slade and Bentall (1988) conclude that the failure to attend to hallucinatory experiences and/or have the opportunity for dialogue about them is likely to have the effect of helping to maintain them.

Romme (1991) describes several case stories to show how the acceptance or non-acceptance of voice hearing is socially and culturally determined, which can influence the outcome of treatment with people diagnosed with [[schizophrenia]]. Baker (1995) suggests that the extent to which nurses accept the experience of people they believe to have psychotic disorders has an effect on the extent to which they can discuss it with them. Martin (2000) describes the creation of an environment conducive to discussing the experience. Such strategies do not demand textbook answers, but emerge from service users living, in a supported way, with the experience of voice hearing.

Increasingly, in acknowledgement of the methodological weaknesses, poor prognostic power, symptomatic variability and general weaknesses inherent in the diagnostic validity of the term ''schizophrenia'', the psychological literature has increasingly tended to focus on specific or discrete symptoms or aspects associated with it.<ref>Bentall (1990)</ref>

Thus, there has been a rapid growth in research{{Citation needed|date=May 2013}} investigating theory and treatment of strange beliefs, [[attention]] and [[concentration]] deficits, [[self-esteem]], family processes (such as the Expressed Emotion literature), to mention but a few{{Citation needed|date=May 2013}}, as well as 'voices'. In addition, recent developments in the theory and treatment of [[post-traumatic stress disorder]] and [[Dissociation (psychology)|dissociative conditions]] offer new understandings emphasising the close links between severe trauma in earlier life and voice hearing subsequently along with other potentially very disabling psychological symptoms. Romme et al., for example report that the disability incurred by hearing voices is associated with previous trauma and abuse, in some way (Romme et al., 1998). Similarly, in a follow-up study (Romme et al., 1999) find that these important connections can be effectively addressed clinically using a mixture of psychological therapy and self-help methods.

Romme and Escher (2000) have developed a method they call "Making sense of voices" to explore the problems in the life of the voice hearer that lie at the roots of the hearing voices experience. This approach was adopted as a consequence of the results of the studies they carried out, that they claimed, showed that to hearing voices, in itself, is not a symptom of an illness, but in most people is a reaction to severe traumatic experiences that made the person powerless, and are in effect, a kind of survival strategy.

==Recent work==
Recent work has focused on beliefs about voices in addition to the voices themselves. Chadwick, Birchwood and Trower (1996) and Bentall (1994) have proposed a number of psychological theories for understanding the experience of hearing voices and the beliefs associated with them. Chadwick and Birchwood, 1997) reported marked reductions in voice hearing, and associated distress based on their cognitive model.

In an intriguing study, Birchwood et al. (2000) found close parallels between the experience of subordination by voices and the experience of subordination and marginalisation in social relationships generally. This suggests that distress arising from voices may not only be linked to voice characteristics but also social and interpersonal beliefs based on life experience.

A range of other psychological and psychosocial treatment approaches are also reported in the literature. In Slade and Bentall (1988) a number of psychological strategies and the evidence supporting their efficacy are reported in terms of distress and anxiety reduction as well as in the frequency and/or intensity of the voice hearing experience.

The importance of respecting and supporting voice hearers' own capacity to develop their own understandings and personal coping resources has been emerging in recent years (Warnes et al. 1996). In a single case study, Davies (1999) was able to demonstrate the value of a diagological approach, which supported the voice-hearers' own development of a meaningful and helpful personal narrative. McNally and Goldberg (1997), as has Romme and Escher (1994, 1998) emphasised the importance of the individuals own coping resources and beliefs in developing effective intervention strategies. They identified a variety of ways in which 'self-talk' and other naturalistic coping strategies can be actively deployed towards managing voices and related experiences. Warnes (1996, 1999) discusses the value of interventions that maximises and supports the person's own experience of control of their experience.

Researchers are also seeking to discover what are the distinctive features of positive experiences (including pleasurable ones) of auditory hallucinations in people with psychosis who experience both positive and negative voices, ''and'' amongst people in the "normal" population.<ref>Sanjuan J et al. (2004), Gatiss et al. (2005), Beavan (2006), Campbell (2006, Thornton (2007)</ref> Beavan's research, for instance, found nearly half the people who heard voices said their hallucinations were mostly friendly or helpful.

==''Living with Voices: 50 Stories of Recovery''==
The book ''Living with Voices: 50 Stories of Recovery'' was published in 2009.<ref>[[Marius Romme|Romme, Marius]]; Escher, Sandra; Dillon, Jacqui; Morris, Mervyn; Corstens, Dirk; (eds.) ''Living with Voices: 50 Stories of Recovery'', [http://www.pccs-books.co.uk/ PCCS Books] in association with [[Birmingham City University]], United Kingdom, 2009. ISBN 978-1-906254-22-3</ref> The book is a study based on the stories of 50 voice hearers who claim to have recovered. The accounts are intended to form an evidence base for the effectiveness of hearing voices approach alongside an analysis of the hearing voices experience outside the illness model, resulting in accepting and making sense of voices. ''Living with Voices'' seeks to demonstrate that it is possible to overcome problems with hearing voices and to take back control of ones life.

The central message of the book is that the path to recovery from overwhelming voices can be achieved by addressing the main problems voice-hearers describe — the threats, the feelings of powerlessness, the anxiety of being mad — and helping them to find their way back to their emotions and spirituality and to realise their dreams. This book also claims to hold true for those who have been given a diagnosis of schizophrenia. At the heart of this book are the stories of the 50 people who have recovered from the distress of hearing voices, and how they have changed their relationship with their voices in order to reclaim their lives.

==''Children Hearing Voices - What You Need to Know and What You Can Do''==

''Children Hearing Voices — What You Need To Know and What You Can Do'' is a book by Romme and Escher.<ref>Romme, Marius; Escher, Sandra. ''Children Hearing Voices — What You Need To Know and What You Can Do'', PCCS Books, United Kingdom, 2010. ISBN 978-1-906254-35-3</ref> It provides support and practical solutions for the experience of hearing voices. It is in two parts, one part for voice-hearing children, the other part for parents and adult carers. This book has mainly been written for children who hear voices. The information in this book is largely derived from a three-year study amongst 80 children and adolescents who were interviewed about their experiences. The children ranged in age from 8 to 19 years at first contact.

Little is known about voice hearing in children. Most people still have this notion that it is a disease for life{{Citation needed|date=May 2013}}. In this book, readers will find extensive information about how to look differently at voice hearing; learning to deal with it and discovering what might help to cope with the voices. The book's idea came after the authors realized the dearth of information available for parents of children hearing voices, and that if parents found information, it was almost always based on the assumption that voice hearing was a serious disease. The authors noticed that the children of those parents who determined to search and "go their own way" were doing better. This book is for these parents.


==See also==
==See also==
* ''[[Interpretation of Schizophrenia]]''
* ''[[Interpretation of Schizophrenia]]''
* [[Ross Institute for Psychological Trauma]]
* [[Trauma model of mental disorders]]
* [[Trauma model of mental disorders]]
* [[Social construction of schizophrenia]]
* [[Social construction of schizophrenia]]


==Articles==
==Further reading==
* [http://www.newsmaker.com.au/news/9377html Treatment of Schizophrenia Challenged In Western Australia] The NewsMaker (Australia) 9 June 2011, "The Psychiatrist, the psychologist and the ex patient: a frank discussion on schizophrenia" Dr Dirk Corstens from the Netherlands, award-winning psychologist Eleanor Longden, and ex patient and Voices advocate Ron Coleman, discuss their expertise and experience on schizophrenia and voice hearing, as well as share innovative ways on the treatment of schizophrenia and management the experience.
* [http://www.newsmaker.com.au/news/9377html Treatment of Schizophrenia Challenged In Western Australia] The NewsMaker (Australia) 9 June 2011, "The Psychiatrist, the psychologist and the ex patient: a frank discussion on schizophrenia" Dr Dirk Corstens from the Netherlands, award-winning psychologist Eleanor Longden, and ex patient and Voices advocate Ron Coleman, discuss their expertise and experience on schizophrenia and voice hearing, as well as share innovative ways on the treatment of schizophrenia and management the experience.
* [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/a-firstclass-recovery-from-hopeless-case-to-graduate-1808991.html A first-class recovery: From hopeless case to graduate] The Independent (UK) 25 October 2009, Eleanor Longden was a diagnosed schizophrenic and heard menacing voices in her head for 10 years.
* [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/a-firstclass-recovery-from-hopeless-case-to-graduate-1808991.html A first-class recovery: From hopeless case to graduate] The Independent (UK) 25 October 2009, Eleanor Longden was a diagnosed schizophrenic and heard menacing voices in her head for 10 years.
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==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* P. Baker (2000); ''[[OpenMind]]'' (103) May–June p14-15.
* V. Beavan, J. Read, C. 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.
* [[Richard Bentall|R. Bentall]]l et al. (1988) ''Sensory deception: towards a scientific analysis of hallucinations''. Croom Helm, London.
* [[Richard Bentall|R. Bentall]] (1990) ''Reconstructing Schizophrenia''.
* M. Birchwood; A Meaden; P. Trower; P. Gilbert; J. Plaistow; (2000); ''Psychological Medicine''. Vol 30(2) 337-44.
* M. Boyle (1990) ''Schizophrenia: a scientific delusion''. (RKP).
* British Psychological Society. ''Recent advances in understanding mental illness and psychotic experiences'': (June 2000) B.P.S. Publication. http://www.understandingpsychosis.com
* P. Bracken and P. Thomas (2005) ''Postpsychiatry. Mental Health in a Postmodern World.''. Oxford University Press.
* P. Brown (9 July 1994) "Understanding the inner voices". ''[[New Scientist]]'', pp26–31.
* P. Chadwick, M. Birchwood, & P. Trower (1996) ''Cognitive Therapy for delusions, voices and Paranoia''. Wiley.
* P. Chadwick & M. Birchwood (1994) "The omnipotence of voices. A cognitive approach to auditory hallucinations". ''British Journal of Psychiatry'', 164, 190-201.
* L. Clarke (1998) ''Nursing Times'': 94 (4) Mar p28-9.
* L. Clarke (2 August 1995) ''Nursing Times'': 91 (31).
* R. Coleman & M. Smith (1997) ''Working with Voices''. Handsell Pub.
* A. David & J. Cuttings (1993) ''The Neuropsychology of Schizophrenia''. Earlbaum, London.
* D. Fowler et al. (1995) ''Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Psychosis''. Wiley.
* P. Garety et al. (1994) "Cognitive behavioural therapy for drug resistant psychosis". ''British Journal of Medical Psychology'' 67, 259-271.
* E. Gatiss, R. Dudley, B. McGregor, M. Freeston (2005) ''Positive Experiences of Voices''. University of Newcastle upon Tyne. UK.
* G. Haddock & P. Slade (1996) ''Cognitive Behavioural interventions with Psychotic Disorders''. Routledge.
* A. James (2001). ''Raising Our Voices''. Handsell Publishing.
* P. J. Martin (7 April 2000) ''Journal of Psychiatry Mental Health Nursing'' (2) 135-41.
* S. McNally & J. Goldberg (1997) "Natural cognitive coping strategies in schizophrenia". ''British Journal of Medical Psychology'' 70, 159-167.
* P. Thomas; I Leudar (2000). ''Voices of reason, voices of insanity; Studies of verbal hallucinations''. Francis/Routledge.
* M. Romme et al. (1999) "Cognitive therapy with psychosis and auditory hallucinations". ''TIJDSCHR-PSYCHIATR'' 41/5 (277-286).
* M. Romme & S. Escher (1994) ''Accepting Voices''. MIND Publications.
* M. Romme & S. Escher (1989) "Hearing Voices". ''Schizophrenia Bulletin''. vol. 15, no. 2, pp.&nbsp;209–216.
* M. Romme. ''[[Nursing Times]]'' 94 (9) 4 March.
* M. Romme and S. Escher. (2000) ''Making Sense of Voices - A guide for professionals who work with voice hearers'' MIND Publications.
* M. Romme and M. Morris. (2007) "The harmful concept of Schizophrenia". ''Mental Health Nursing'', 7–11 March.
* J. Sanjuan J, J.C. Gonzalez, E.j. Aguilar, C. Leal and J. Os (2004) "Pleasurable auditory hallucinations". ''[[Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica]]'' 110 (4); 273-278.
* P. Stastny & P. Lehmann (Eds.) (2007) ''Alternatives Beyond Psychiatry''. Lehmann Publications.
* J. Strauss (1994) "The person with Schizophrenia as a Person: Approaches to the Subjective and Complex." ''British Journal of Psychiatry'' 164, 103-107.
* [[World Health Organization]] (1999) ''The World Health Report'', Geneva.
* ''National Services Framework for Mental Health; Modern Standards & Service Model'' (DoH, 1999)
* T. Wykes; A. M. Parr; S. Landau (August 1999). ''British Journal of Psychiatry'' 175 180-5.

==External links==
* [http://www.hvna.net.au/ Hearing Voices Network Australia (HVNA)] A collection of Hearing Voices Groups and affiliated members (such as service providers, consumers, carers and friends) working toward promoting recovery, acceptance and education.
* [http://www.hearingvoices.org.nz/ HEARING VOICES NETWORK AOTEAROA NZ- Te Reo Orooro] Te Reo Orooro - providing information & support for voices & visions
* [http://www.hearingvoices.dk/ Stemmehørernetværket i Danmark] Hearing Voices Network Denmark
* [http://www.hearing-voices.org/ Hearing Voices Network England]
* [http://www.moniaaniset.fi/ SUOMEN MONIÄÄNISET RY] Hearing Voices Network Finland
* [http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/information/mental-health-a-z/hearing-voices/ Hearing voices (auditory hallucinations)] Information from the Mental Health Foundation (UK)
* [http://www.voicesireland.com/Home.htm Hearing Voices Ireland (HVI)] Started in 2006 to ‘promote and foster acceptance of ‘voice hearing’ as a valid human experience’.
* [http://www.power2u.org/articles/selfhelp/voices.html Hearing voices that are distressing: Self-help resources and strategies] National Empowerment Center (USA)
* [http://www.hearing-voices.com/ Hearing Voices]: mainly in Dutch language
* [http://www.hvnnsw.org.au/ Hope Hearing Voices Network NSW, Australia] The primary objective of HVNNSW, is to establish, facilitate and support self-help groups for voice hearers, throughout Metropolitan Sydney, as well as regional NSW.
* [http://www.intervoiceonline.org/ INTERVOICE: International Network for Training, Education and Research into Hearing Voices]
* [http://www.8ung.at/stimmenhoeren/ Intervoice Oberösterreich – Netzwerk Stimmenhören] Hearing Voices Network Austria
* [http://www.parlaconlevoci.it/chi.php Italy Hearing Voices Network]
* [http://www.stimmenhoeren.de/ Netzwerk Stimmenhören] Website of German HVN formed in 1997
* [http://www.mind.org.uk/help/medical_and_alternative_care/the_voice_inside_coping_with_hearing_voices "The voice inside: A practical guide to coping with hearing voices"]
*[http://www.madnessradio.net/will-hall-talk-hearing-voices-toronto-voices-conference-audio Audio of Will Hall Talk at Canada Hearing Voices Gathering Toronto, 2010]
* [http://www.echoesgroup.blogspot.com/ Echoes] (Shetland Hearing Voices Group)
* [http://www.stemmenhoren.nl/index.html Stichting Weerklank] Resonance, Netherlands: A foundation for and by people with: Hearing voices, Special psychic experience, Psychotic experiences, Extrasensory experiences
* [http://www.romforstemmer.no/ Hører stemmer] Hearing voices Network Norway
* [http://www.HVN-Canada.bravehost.com/] Hearing voices Canada
* [http://www.portlandhearingvoices.net/ Portland Hearing Voices] Portland Oregon USA

==Publications==
* {{cite journal |author=Romme MA, Escher AD |title=Hearing voices |journal=Schizophrenia Bulletin |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=209–16 |year=1989 |pmid=2749184 |doi= |url=http://schizophreniabulletin.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=2749184}}
* Romme, M. & Escher, A. (July 1989). "Effects of mutual contacts from people with auditory hallucinations." ''Perspectief'' no 3, 37-43.
* Romme, M. & Escher, A. (1990). "Heard but not seen." ''Open Mind'' 49, 16-18.
* Romme, M. & Escher, A. (9 November 1991). "Sense in voices." ''Open Mind'' 53.
* Romme, M. & Escher, A. (December 1991). "Undire le Voci." ''Spazi della Menten'' 8, p 3-9.
* Romme, M., Honig, A., Noorthoorn, O., Escher, A. (1991) "Coping with voices: an emancipatory approach." ''[[British Journal of Psychiatry]]'' 161, 99-103.
* Romme, M. Honig, A. Noorthorn, E. O. & S. Escher (1992) "Coping with hearing voices: an emancipatory approach". 'British Journal of Psychiatry''.
* Romme, M. & Escher, A. (Eds.) (1993, 2nd edition 1998) ''Accepting Voices'', MIND Publications, London.
* Romme, M. & Escher, A. (Eds.) (1996) ''Understanding voices: coping with auditory hallucinations and confusing realities ''. First published by Rijksuniversitiet Maastricht, Limburg, the Netherlands and also new English edition, Handsell Publications.
* Romme, M. & Escher, A. (2000) ''Making Sense of Voices - A guide for professionals who work with voice hearers'' MIND Publications.
* Assiz, Christine. (6 January 1991) "Heard but not seen". ''The Independent''.
* Baker, P.K. (1990) "I hear voices and I'm glad to!". ''Critical Public Health'', No. 4, 1990, pp 21–27.
* Baker, P.K. (1995) "Accepting the Inner Voices". ''Nursing Times'', Vol. 91, No 31, 1995, pp 59–61.
* Baker, P.K. (1996) ''The Voice Inside: a practical guide to coping''. Mind Publications.
* Baker, P.K. (1996) ''Can you hear me, a research and practice summary''. Handsell UK.
* Barret, T.R. and Etheridge, J.B. (1992) "Verbal hallucinations in Normals I: People who hear voices". ''Applied Cognitive Psychology'', Vol. 6, pp.&nbsp;379–387.
* Benthall, R.P. (1990) "The illusion of Reality: a review and integration of psychological research into psychotic hallucinations". ''Psychological Bulletin'', no. 107, pp.&nbsp;82–95.
* Bentall, R.P., Claridge, G.S. & Slade, P.D. (1988) "Abandoning the Concept of "Schizophrenia": Some Implications of Validity Arguments for Psychological Research into Psychotic Phenomena". ''British Journal of Clinical Psychology'', Vol.27, pp.&nbsp;303–324.
* Bentall R.P., Claridge, G.S. & Slade, P.D. (1989) "The Multidimensional Nature of Schizotypal traits: A factor analytic study with normal subjects". ''British Journal of Clinical Psychology'', Vol.?
* Bentall, R.P., Haddock, G. and Slade, P.D. (1994) "Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for persistent auditory hallucinations: from theory to therapy". ''Behavioral Psychotherapy'' No. 25, pp.&nbsp;51–56.
* Bentall, R.P., Jackson, H.J. & Pilgrim, D. (1988) "Abandoning the concept of "schizophrenia: Some implications of validity arguments for psychological research into psychotic phenomena". ''British Journal of Clinical Psychology'' No. 27, pp.&nbsp;303–324.
* Bentall, R.P., Kaney, S. & Dewey. M (1991) "Paranoia and Social Reasoning: An Attribution Theory Analysis". ''British Journal of Clinical Psychology'' No. 30, pp.&nbsp;13–23.
* Bentall, R.P. and Slade, P.D. (1995) "Reliability of a scale for measuring disposition towards hallucinations: a brief report". ''Person. Individ. Diff.'' Vol 6, No. 4, pp.&nbsp;527–529.
* Blackman, Lisa. (2001) ''Hearing Voices, Embodiment and Experience''. [[Free Association Books]], London.
* Bentall, R. & Haddock, G. (1990) "Cognitive behaviour therapy for persistent auditory hallucinations". ''Behaviour Therapy'' 25: 51 - 66.
* Chadwick, P.D.J. and Birchwood, M.J. (1994) "Challenging the omnipotence of voices: A cognitive approach to auditory hallucinations". ''British Journal of Psychiatry'' No. 164, pp.&nbsp;190–201.
* Coleman, R and Smith, M. (1997) ''Victim to Victor: working with voices''. Handsell, Gloucester, UK.
* Cullberg, J. (1991) "Recovered versus non-recovered schizophrenic patients among those who have had intensive psychotherapy". ''Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica'' Vol. 84, pp.&nbsp;242–245.
* Downs, Julie (Ed). (2001) ''Starting and Supporting Voices Groups: A Guide to setting up and running support groups for people who hear voices, see visions or experience tactile or other sensations''. Hearing Voices Network, Manchester, England.
* Downs, Julie (Ed). (2001) ''Coping with Voices And Visions, A guide to helping people who Experience hearing voices, seeing visions, tactile or other Sensations''. Hearing Voices Network, Manchester, England.
* Ensink, B. (1992) ''Confusing Realities: A study of child sexual abuse and psychiatric symptoms''. Amsterdam, VU University Press.
* Ensink, B. (1993) "Trauma: A study of child abuse and hallucinations". ''Accepting Voices'', Eds M. Romme and S. Escher.
* 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'' 179, pp 689–693.
* Falloon, I.R.H. and Talbot, R.E. (1981) "Persistent auditory hallucinations: coping mechanisms and implications for management". ''Psychological Medicine'' 11, pp.&nbsp;329–339.
* Freedland, John (April 22, 1995) "Hearing is believing". ''The Guardian''.
* Grierson, Mike (1991) "A Report on the Manchester Hearing Voices Conference November 1990". Hearing Voices Network.
* Haddock, G., Bentall, R.P. and Slade, P. (1996) "Psychological treatments for auditory hallucinations, focussing or distraction?". ''Cognitive, Behavioural Interventions with Psychotic Disorders Routledge, London Therapy, Eds. Haddock G. and Slade P, pp.&nbsp;45–71.
* Haddock, G., Bentall, R.P. and Slade, P.D. (1993) "Psychological treatment of chronic auditory hallucinations: two case studies". ''Behavioral and Cognitive Psychotherapy'' 21: 335-46.
* Haddock, G. and Slade, P. (1996) ''Empowering people who hear voices in cognitive behavioral interventions with psychotic disorders''. Routledge, London.
* Heery, M. W. (1989) "Inner Voice Experiences: an exploratory study of 30 cases". ''Journal of Transpersonal Psychiatry'', vol. 21, no. 1, pp.&nbsp;73–82.
* Holmes, Doug. (15 February 1999) ''Hearing Voices: Hillary, Angels, and O.J. to the Voice-Producing Brain''. Shenandoah Psychology Press.
* James, Adam (2001) ''Raising our Voices: History of the Voice hearing movement''. Handsell, UK.
* Jaynes, J. (1976) ''The origin of consciousness and the breakdown of the bicameral mind''. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
* Leudar and Thomas, P. (1994) "Guidelines for Establishing Pragmatic Aspects of Voices". ''Voice Hearer Talk''. Manchester: Department of Psychology, University of Manchester.
* Leudar, I., Thomas, P., Johnston, M. (1992) "Self Repair for in dialogues of schizophrenics: effects of hallucinations and negative symptoms". ''Brain and Language'' 43: 487-511.
* Leudar, I., Thomas, P., Johnston, M. (1994) "Self monitoring in speech production: effects of verbal hallucinations and negative symptoms". ''Psychological Medicine''.
* Leudar, I., Thomas, P., McNally, D. and Glinsky, A. (1997) "What can voices do with words? Pragmatics of verbal hallucinations". ''Psychological Medicine''.
* Leudar, I., Thomas, P. ''Voices of Reason, Voices of Insanity - Studies of Verbal Hallucinations'' (2000) Routledge/Psychological Press.
* Lineham, T. (1993) "Hearing is Believing". ''New Statesman and Society'', 26.3.93, pp.&nbsp;18–19.
* Lockhart, A. R. (1975) "Mary's Dog is an Ear Mother: Listening to the Voices of Psychosis". ''Psychological Perspectives'' Vol. 6, No 2, pp.&nbsp;144–160.
* Miller, L. J., O'Connor, R. N. & DiPasquale, T. (1993) "Patients' Attitudes Toward Hallucinations".$ ''American Journal of Psychiatry'', Vol. 150, no.4, pp.&nbsp;584–588.
* 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.&nbsp;99–113.
* Rector and Seeman (1992) "Auditory Hallucinations in Women and Men". ''Schizophrenia Research'', vol 7, pp.&nbsp;233–236.
* Sarbin, T. R. (1990) "Towards the Obsolescence of the Schizophrenia Hypothesis". ''The Journal of Mind and Behaviour'' vol. 11. No. 3/4, pp.&nbsp;259–283.
* Siegel, Ronald. ''Fire in the Brain: Clinical Tales of Hallucination''. Dutton Books, New York, 1992.
* Sidgewick, H. A. (1894) "Report on the census of hallucinations, Proceedings of the Society of Psychical Research". No. 26, pp.&nbsp;25–394.
* Slade, P. D. (1993) "Models of Hallucination: from theory to practice" in David, A.S. and Cutting, J. (Eds.) ''The Neuropsychology of Schizophrenia'', Earlbaum, London.
* Slade, P.D. and Bentall, R.P. (1988) ''Sensory Deception; towards a scientific analysis of hallucinations'', Croom Helm, London.
* Stephens, G. Lynn and Graham, George. (May 2000) ''When Self-Consciousness Breaks: Alien Voices and Inserted Thoughts'', Philosophical Pychopathology Series, Bradford Books; ISBN 0-262-19437-6
* Tarrier N., Harwood S., Yusupoff L., Beckett R. & Baker A. (1990) ''Coping Strategy Enhancement (CSE): Method of Treating Residual Schizophrenic Symptoms Behavioural Psychotherapy'', No. 18, pp.&nbsp;283–293.
* Tien, A. Y. (1991) "Distributions of hallucinations in the population". ''Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology'', No. 26, pp.&nbsp;287–292.
* Tiihonen, Hari, Naukkarinen, Rimon, Jousimaki and Kajola (1992) "Modified Activity of Human Auditory Cortex during Auditory Hallucinations". ''American Journal of Psychiatry'', vol. 149, No. 2, pp.&nbsp;225–257.
* Watkins, John. (1998) ''Hearing voices - A Common Human Experience''. by Hill of Content Publishing, Melbourne, Australia; ISBN 0-85572-288-6
* Yusopoff and Tarrier N. (1996) "Coping strategy enhancement for persistent hallucinations and delusions". ''Cognitive, Behavioural Interventions with Psychotic Disorders''. Routledge, London Therapy, Eds. Haddock G. and Slade P.

[[Category:Schizophrenia]]
[[Category:Anti-psychiatry]]
[[Category:Psychiatric patients]]

Revision as of 20:36, 6 April 2014

Hearing Voices Movement is a philosophical trend in how people who hear voices are viewed. It was started by Marius Romme and Sandra Escher. The movement challenges the medical model of mental illness, rejects the stigma and pathologisation of hearing voices, and advocates for individualized recovery methods.

History and tenets

The Hearing Voices Movement was established in 1987 by Romme and Escher, both from the Netherlands, with the formation of Stichting Weerklank (Foundation Resonance), an organization for people who hear voices. In 1988, the Hearing Voices Network was established in England with the active support of Romme.[1][better source needed] Since then, networks have been established in other countries including Italy, Finland, Wales, Scotland, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Japan, Israel, New Zealand, Australia, and the USA.

In 1997, a meeting of voice hearers and mental health workers was held in Maastricht to discuss developing the further promotion and research into the topic of voice hearing. The meeting decided to create a formal organizational structure to provide administrative and coordinating support to the wide variety of initiatives in the different involved countries.[citation needed] The new network was called INTERVOICE (The International Network for Training, Education and Research into Hearing Voices). INTERVOICE holds annual steering group meetings, encourages and supports exchanges and visits between member countries and the translation and publication of books and other literature on the subject of hearing voices. INTERVOICE was incorporated in 2007 as a non-profit company under UK law.

INTERVOICE is supported by people who hear voices, relatives and friends and mental health professionals including nurses, psychiatrists and psychologists.[citation needed] INTERVOICE members assert that the most important factor in the success of their approach is the importance placed on the personal engagement of the people involved, meaning that all participants are considered an expert of their own experience.[citation needed]

The Hearing Voices Movement regards itself as being a post-psychiatric organisation,[2][better source needed] positioning itself outside of the mental health world in recognition that voices are an aspect of human difference, rather than a mental health problem, and that one of the main issues is about human rights.

The Hearing Voices Movement seeks holistic health solutions to problematic and overwhelming voices that cause mental distress. Based on their research,[citation needed] the movement espouses that many people successfully live with their voices and that in themselves voices are not the problem.

Position

The position of the hearing voices movement can be summarised as follows:[citation needed]

  • Hearing voices is not in itself a sign of mental illness.
  • Hearing voices is experienced by many people who do not have symptoms that would lead to diagnosis of mental illness.
  • Hearing voices is often related to problems in life history.
  • If hearing voices causes distress, the person who hears the voices can learn strategies to cope with the experience. Coping is often achieved by confronting the past problems that lie behind the experience.

Theory overview

The work of Romme and Escher[3][better source needed] provides a theoretical framework for the movement. They find that:

  1. Not everyone who hears voices becomes a patient. Over a third of 400 voice hearers in the Netherlands they studied had not had any contact with psychiatric services. These people either described themselves as being able to cope with their voices and/or described their voices as life enhancing.[citation needed]
  2. Romme cites demographic research[4][better source needed] indicating that hearing voices in itself is not a symptom of an illness, but is apparent in 2–4% of the population (some research gives higher estimates);[5] and even more (about 8%) have peculiar delusions and do so without being ill.
  3. People who cope well with their voices and those who did not show clear differences in terms of the nature of the relationship they had with their voices.[citation needed]
  4. People who cope better also used different strategies to manage their voices.[citation needed]
  5. 70% of voice hearers reported that their voices had begun after a severe traumatic or intensely emotional event,[6] such as an accident, divorce or bereavement, sexual or physical abuse, love affairs, or pregnancy. Romme and colleagues found that the onset of voice hearing amongst a patient group was preceded by either a traumatic event or an event that activated the memory of an earlier trauma.[citation needed] Specifically, there was a high correlation between voice hearing and abuse.[citation needed] These findings are being substantiated further in an on-going study with voice hearing amongst children.[7][better source needed]
  6. Some people who hear voices have a deep need to construct a personal understanding for their experiences and to talk to others about it without being designated as mad.[citation needed]

Romme and colleagues find that people who hear voices can be helped using cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and self-help methods.[citation needed]

Romme theorizes a three phase model of recovery:[citation needed]

  • Startling – Initial confusion; emotional chaos, fear, helplessness and psychological turmoil.
  • Organization – The need to find meaning, arrive at some understanding and acceptance. The development of ways of coping and accommodating voices in everyday living. This task may take months or years and is marked by the attempt to enter into active negotiation with the voice(s).
  • Stabilisation – The establishment of equilibrium, and accommodation, with the voice(s), and the consequent re-empowerment of the person.

Alternative to medical model of disability

The Hearing Voices Movement disavows the medical model of disability and disapproves of the practises of mental health services through much of the Western World, such as treatment solely with medication. For example, some service users have reported negative experiences of mental health services because they are discouraged from talking about their voices as these are seen solely as symptoms of psychiatric illness.[8][better source needed] Slade and Bentall conclude that the failure to attend to hallucinatory experiences and/or have the opportunity for dialogue about them is likely to have the effect of helping to maintain them.[citation needed]

In Voices of Reason, Voices of Insanity, Leudar and Thomas review nearly 3,000 years of voice-hearing history, including that of Socrates, Schreber, and Janet's patient 'Marcelle', amongst others.[citation needed] They argue that the Western World has moved the experience of hearing voices from a socially valued context to a pathologised and denigrated one. Foucault has argued that this process can generally arise when a minority perspective is at odds with dominant social norms and beliefs.[citation needed]

See also

Further reading

References

  1. ^ James, 2001
  2. ^ Bracken, 2005; Stastny/Peter Lehmann, 2007
  3. ^ Romme and Escher (1989, 90, 91, 92, '94, '97, '98, '99)
  4. ^ Including studies by A. Y. Tien (1991) and Eaton W.W. et al. (1991)
  5. ^ Jardri, Thomas, Cachia & Pins (2013). The Neuroscience of hallucinations. New York: Springer Science + Business Media. pp. 21–41.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Jardri, Thomas, Cachia & Pins (2013). The Neuroscience of hallucinations. New York: Springer Science + Business Media. pp. 21–41.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Escher (2001)
  8. ^ Romme (1997)
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