1st May 2007

From Marius Romme, President of INTERVOICE

Dear INTERVOICE Members

We hope you will have already heard about the dates for the INTERVOICE meeting in Lyngby near Copenhagen in Denmark on the 31st May and 1st June 2007.

Please note it is still possible to book a place, if would like to do so, contact Marianne Holst, whose details you will find at the bottom of this email

We like to give our apologies for sending the program as late as this, this has been due to misunderstandings between the organising committee in Denmark and INTERVOICE.

Nevertheless we hope the program will inspire you to come because we have to discuss some important issues about recovery, training and research We also have to discuss giving a name for those who will be trained in helping people to recover from the distress they may have with their voices, (that is professionals as well as experienced voice hearers working as recovery assistants).

We now have collected 50 reports about voice hearers who recovered from their distress and have taken back their lives into their own hands. From this we have learned how brave these persons have been in their struggles and how creative and powerful they have been in succeeding. However, there is a serious lack in training for people who could help them in this process. We will have to supply these training possibilities ourselves, because it has also been made clear from these stories that people managed because they freed themselves from psychiatry, often after many years of being harmed and broken down by that system.

We therefore wish to propose different types of training schemes as follows:
Training for professionals by “professionals” who are members of INTERVOICE
Training for experienced voice hearers to train professionals
A training scheme to become a facilitator of a voice hearer group

Further, we will discuss research studies showing that voice groups are effective in the process of recovery and a research study of the work book “Working with voices” by Ron and Mike showing the effectiveness of this form of self-help.

We also will renew the discussion on how to name those who be able to help in the recovery process and have been trained to do so.

We of course, as usual, reserve time to inform each other about the developments in our countries and naturally the special development of the INTERVOICE Website.

My best wishes and hoping to see you in Copenhagan

Marius

PROGRAM

Thursday 31st May

10.00 Welcome by the host of the meeting Olga Runciman chair of the Danish H.V. Network

10.15 Welcome by Marius Romme Chair of INTERVOICE

10. 30 Welcome by the leading organisers in Denmark: Jørn Erickson and Trevor Eyles.

10.45 A Proposal concerning “Experience focussed counselling” by Joachim Schnackenberg. Discussion on a professional name for trained people helping voice hearer to recover. (As a consequence of the German translation of Making Sense of Voices, following the request of the publisher, training should be organised and that requires an identity.

11.00 - 11.15 Coffee break

11.15 - 11.45 Research on hearing voices groups By Julie Downs Three studies: Over the last few years there have been some studies done which are worth while discussing, they show for instance that people who attend hearing voices group have less chance to be hospitalised again and more importantly have been able to develop themselves.

12.30. Lunch

14.00 Basic training scheme for professionals: training other professionals by Marius Romme, Joachim Schnackenberg and Sandra Escher. consisting of 5 elements:
1) Building up a relationship about hearing voices with the “Working with Voices” book.
2) Exploring systematically the experience with the Maastricht 2 Interview in pairs (a voice hearer and a professional working together).
3) Constructing the possible relationships between voices and life-history.
4) Finding a workable entrée with people in a crisis period (often called psychosis)
5) Exploring the need for more intense psychotherapy with the examples of the recovered (About special therapies, or interventions like for example voice dialogue)

14.30 Presentation of progress in Finland and their plans

14.45 Presentation of different programs in Italy

15.00 Presentation of developments in Denmark

15.15 Discussion about World Hearing Voices Day 2007

We possibly go on a little longer depending on the attendance of country representatives we have not heard from yet.

Friday 1st June 10.00 Research on the "Working with voices" book as an effective as a self-help instrument by Ron Coleman

10.30 Training people in voice dialogue with voices by Dirk Corstens.

11. 00 Coffee break

11.15 A training course to become a facilitator of a hearing voices group by Viv Fongenie Developed in London by Jacqui Dillon who will be represented by Viv.

12.30 Lunch

14.00 Training experienced voices hearer to train professionals by Sandra Escher In relation to - an international study paid by the European community - a series of modules have been developed of which hearing voices is one that was tested in London.

14.30 Presentation of progress in Australia by Lyn Mahboub.

14.45 Presentation of progress and problem in Switzerland by Theresa Krummenacher.

15.00 Presentation of progress in Holland by Susanne Engelen

15.15 Presentation of progress in England by Julie Downs

Prize awards of the year

16.00 Close

APPLICATION TO MARIANNE HOLST AT MARIANNE@HOLST-OLSEN.DK
For non-representatives Payment of 1180 Danish Kroner to Laan og Spar Bank Address: Lyngby hovedgade52,2800 Lyngby Denmark. Bank reg No 0400 acc 4013426567; IBAN-nr: DK 3004004013426576 Swift-Code 3004004013426576.

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