Listening to Voices
Thursday 25 October, 19.00-20.30
Hearing voices is not uncommon, with 10 per cent of the population hearing voices at some point in their lives. Auditory hallucinations have always been considered a symptom of psychosis. Voices come in many different shapes and forms and have different impacts on an individual's life. But how should we treat these voices? Should we talk to the person about the voices, engage in a dialogue with the voices or try to suppress them with medication?
In some cultures, auditory hallucinations are not perceived as hallucinations at all. Voices may be considered gateways to the spirit world, an essential experience on the path to shamanism or a connection to God.
Group therapy that has developed in the last 20 years encourages people to understand these voices in a different way. People are encouraged to engage in a dialogue with the voices, rather than dismiss them as nonsense. Some people consider this to be representative of an important shift in the way we understand mental illness.
Speakers
Trevor Turner, Consultant Psychiatrist and Clinical Director of R&D, Homerton and St Bartholomew's Hospitals
John Mack, Professor of World Art Studies, University of East Anglia
Viv Fongenie, London Hearing Voices Network Project, Mind, Camden
Trevor Turner
I am Consultant Psychiatrist and Clinical Director of R&D at Homerton and St Bartholomew's Hospitals, London. I am also an honorary senior lecturer at Barts and The London Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London. My publications include ‘Schizophrenia: Your questions answered' (2005) and 'Outdoor Psychiatry: A practical guide to community mental health care' (2007). My research interests include history of psychiatry, community care and schizophrenia.
John Mack
I am an anthropologist and art historian. I have undertaken fieldwork in southern Sudan, Kenya, Zanzibar and Madagascar. I originally trained as a social anthropologist, and have worked as Senior Keeper at the Museum of Mankind at the British Museum. I am currently Professor of World Art Studies at the University of East Anglia.
Viv Fongenie
I am currently developing the London Hearing Voices Project at Mind in Camden, while also working as a mental health trainer and consultant. My written work includes the publication of a report for the Home Office on dual diagnosis as well as several other articles and booklets. In 2004 I produced and directed 'Troubled Minds', a documentary focusing on psychiatric services and the black community. I continue to develop projects and provide training to mental health professionals on alternative approaches to traditional psychiatric interventions.