Accepting and Working with Voices - World Hearing Voices Day Conference, 14 September 2007
Page last updated 24/10/2007
Louise Pembroke and Sara Stanton both hear voices, and are survivors of the psychiatric system and mental health activists who have been involved with Mad Politics over a number of years. Their interest in hearing voices work motivated the need for a national conference in celebration of World Hearing Voices Day, and this article, due to be published in Mental Health Today, contains their reflections on this year’s conference held on September 14 2007. The Conference was sponsored and supported by Together
Extract
"An overriding message of the conference was how important it is for all voice hearers to seek out their own truths and determine the meaning of their experiences. This is about more than just identifying
triggers and finding ways to cope, it’s about making sense of our voices so that we do not have to live in the shadow of them. It’s about professionals having the courage to put aside their beliefs and work within the ones that the voice hearer owns. This requires acceptance of the experience, which does not necessarily always lead to agreement but is the most useful thing a professional can do. When people refer to a ‘good’ doctor or nurse, they are not referring to clinical interventions, but to someone’s human qualities and being valued. Someone bothering to seek and work with another’s truths. WHVD is an opportunity to celebrate our lives, acknowledge our struggles and share our unique approaches in living. Within that voice hearers need to be proud of who they are."
Read the full article here