On 9th June we hosted an event in Manchester about "Living Well with Voice Hearers". Here is a report by our Group Chair, Lindsey Cree, about the day.
I first became interested in this event when Paul Baker contacted our group to see if any of our carers might be interested in learning some coping strategies when supporting a family member who hears voices. As there’s very little practical information or advice that addresses carers needs in this area I was curious to find out more and hopefully discover what we can do to support a loved one who hears voices. I met up with Paul to get to know more about his organisation and how carers could benefit from a ‘Hearing Voices’ workshop.
This turned out to be a thought provoking meeting as I realised how naive I was about the voice hearing experience. For instance, I learned that hearing voices is a normal yet unusual experience, and that it’s possible to become ill as result of hearing voices when you cannot cope with them. In addition, although auditory hallucinations occur in several forms of mental illness, hearing voices doesn’t mean you are mentally ill. It became clear to me Paul had considerable knowledge in this area which he could share with our carers, and we were soon discussing the practicalities of an event.
In the meantime, Paul sent me some books, including a workbook and DVD’s so that I could learn and come to understand more about voice hearing. What I found interesting is that your family member can develop ways of hearing voices as they learn to cope with life’s problems and the emotions and feelings involved with these problems, and that it’s not the voices themselves that are the problem but the power they can have over the person who hears them. Knowing this has enabled me to understand the sense of weakness and fear the voice hearer can experience. Paul had explained how empathy and listening to the person is very important and how there is a shortage of counsellors who work with voice hearers. This intrigued me, and (as I’m a counsellor) am now working with someone who hears voices and we are going through the workbook with a view to the person learning some coping strategies, understanding their relationship with the voices and building some confidence and self esteem which is something the voices can have an impact on.
During the event, we heard from families who were struggling to understand and support their loved one who hears voices. We looked at ways to encourage our family member to have a dialogue with the voices and to get to know the relationship with them. It’s about disempowering the voices so they no longer frighten or cause anxiety and distress. We discovered not all voices are negative, some are helpful and encouraging, and that once they come to accept their voices most people actually find them useful. We all took part in an exercise that brought it clearer to us what voice hearers go through. A number of carers commented on how difficult it was to concentrate and process what was being said to them while the voices were talking, and it appeared all of us felt anxious, frustrated, emotionally and even physically drained by the voice hearing experience.
As a carer, there are a number of things I took away from this event. One is that recovery isn’t about the person getting rid of the voices but about them changing their relationship with the voices. Normalising the experience can help family members deal with the voices by trying not to perceive it as something terrible but to see it as a sign that something is troubling the family member that can be resolved. Another thing I learned is once the person is really listened to and believed in their voice hearing experience that the voices are real and not a figment of their imagination, and begins feel accepted in a non-judgemental way, there is a move towards positive change, a sense of well being and better relationships.
Lindsey Cree, carer and Chair of Rethink Manchester Carers In Action (RMCIA)
This event was sponsored and supported by:
Manchester Mental Health & Social Care Trust (MMHSCT)
Manchester Alliance for Community Care (MACC)
Rethink Manchester Carers In Action (RMCIA)
Paul Baker is the honorary executive officer of INTERVOICE http://www.workingtorecovery.co.uk/ the coordinating body for the international hearing voices movement. Paul was one of the founding members of the Hearing Voices Network in England and helped to set up the first hearing voices group in Manchester in 1989. He is a community development and group worker, specialising in working with people with mental health problems.
I first became interested in this event when Paul Baker contacted our group to see if any of our carers might be interested in learning some coping strategies when supporting a family member who hears voices. As there’s very little practical information or advice that addresses carers needs in this area I was curious to find out more and hopefully discover what we can do to support a loved one who hears voices. I met up with Paul to get to know more about his organisation and how carers could benefit from a ‘Hearing Voices’ workshop.
This turned out to be a thought provoking meeting as I realised how naive I was about the voice hearing experience. For instance, I learned that hearing voices is a normal yet unusual experience, and that it’s possible to become ill as result of hearing voices when you cannot cope with them. In addition, although auditory hallucinations occur in several forms of mental illness, hearing voices doesn’t mean you are mentally ill. It became clear to me Paul had considerable knowledge in this area which he could share with our carers, and we were soon discussing the practicalities of an event.
In the meantime, Paul sent me some books, including a workbook and DVD’s so that I could learn and come to understand more about voice hearing. What I found interesting is that your family member can develop ways of hearing voices as they learn to cope with life’s problems and the emotions and feelings involved with these problems, and that it’s not the voices themselves that are the problem but the power they can have over the person who hears them. Knowing this has enabled me to understand the sense of weakness and fear the voice hearer can experience. Paul had explained how empathy and listening to the person is very important and how there is a shortage of counsellors who work with voice hearers. This intrigued me, and (as I’m a counsellor) am now working with someone who hears voices and we are going through the workbook with a view to the person learning some coping strategies, understanding their relationship with the voices and building some confidence and self esteem which is something the voices can have an impact on.
During the event, we heard from families who were struggling to understand and support their loved one who hears voices. We looked at ways to encourage our family member to have a dialogue with the voices and to get to know the relationship with them. It’s about disempowering the voices so they no longer frighten or cause anxiety and distress. We discovered not all voices are negative, some are helpful and encouraging, and that once they come to accept their voices most people actually find them useful. We all took part in an exercise that brought it clearer to us what voice hearers go through. A number of carers commented on how difficult it was to concentrate and process what was being said to them while the voices were talking, and it appeared all of us felt anxious, frustrated, emotionally and even physically drained by the voice hearing experience.
As a carer, there are a number of things I took away from this event. One is that recovery isn’t about the person getting rid of the voices but about them changing their relationship with the voices. Normalising the experience can help family members deal with the voices by trying not to perceive it as something terrible but to see it as a sign that something is troubling the family member that can be resolved. Another thing I learned is once the person is really listened to and believed in their voice hearing experience that the voices are real and not a figment of their imagination, and begins feel accepted in a non-judgemental way, there is a move towards positive change, a sense of well being and better relationships.
Lindsey Cree, carer and Chair of Rethink Manchester Carers In Action (RMCIA)
This event was sponsored and supported by:
Manchester Mental Health & Social Care Trust (MMHSCT)
Manchester Alliance for Community Care (MACC)
Rethink Manchester Carers In Action (RMCIA)
Paul Baker is the honorary executive officer of INTERVOICE http://www.workingtorecovery.co.uk/ the coordinating body for the international hearing voices movement. Paul was one of the founding members of the Hearing Voices Network in England and helped to set up the first hearing voices group in Manchester in 1989. He is a community development and group worker, specialising in working with people with mental health problems.
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