Message from Professor Marius Romme, MD, PhD, President of INTERVOICE


Page updated 07/03/2008


Marius Romme
Message from Professor Marius Romme, MD, PhD, President of INTERVOICE

There are many fears and misunderstandings in society and within psychiatry about hearing voices. They are generally regarded as a symptom of an illness, something that is negative, to be got rid of and consequently the content and meaning of the voice experience is rarely discussed.

The research of Dr. Sandra Escher and myself with over 300 voice hearers has shown that over 70% of people who hear voices can point to a traumatic life event that triggered their voices; that talking about voices and what they mean is a very effective way to reduce anxiety and isolation; and that even when the voices are overwhelming and seemingly destructive they often have an important message for the hearer.

With the support of the worldwide hearing voices network, voice hearers, some of whom have spent long periods of time in psychiatric care, have reclaimed their lives and are now able to say they hear voices and accept them as part of themselves. Our journey to better understand the voice hearing experience has now been going on for almost twenty years and we believe this is a good time to make our work better known across the world.”


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  1. Frank Naessen – December 28, 2007 @ 03:49 PM
    Professor Marius Romme, Ik weet dat u Nederlands verstaat dus doe ik het in mijn taal. Ik heb uw boek gelezen over anders omgaan met stemmen, boeiende lectuur. Ik ben donateur van de Stichting Weerklank, vanuit België. Ik lees Klankspiegel graag. Ik ben zo goed als verlost van mijn stemmen en schimmen (beelden) en aanrakingen. Ik heb er lang mee gezeten. De 'hallucinatoire' ervaringen duiken soms nog op bij speciale of crisis gelegenheden. Zoals vorige nacht omdat ik in de clinch lig met de psychiatrie. Het gaat om een verschil van opinie en interpretatie van de beslissingen en voorwaarden van het gerecht. Ik ben immers sinds 1996 - onschuldig - veroordeeld en geïnterneerd. In onderhavig conflict heb ik reeds mijn advocaten gecontacteerd en nog vele andere mensen en verenigingen op de hoogte gesteld. Per brief die ik opgestuurd heb vanmorgen. Het trauma dat het stemmenhoren ed. op gang gebracht heeft is een mislukte therapie bij een in mijn ogen onrechtvaardige, overtredende en harde psychotherapeut in een groep(stherapie) die mij niet (en niemand for that matter) aanvaardde om niet te zeggen uitspuwde. Wat daar gebeurde, kon gewoonweg niet. Onmogelijk. Omdat ik mijn ogen niet geloofde ben ik 5 jaar tussen 1974 en 1979 blijven gaan. Ik geraakte steeds dieper weg en getraumatiseerd. Er was geen enkel aanvoelen van (eigen) verantwoordelijkheid voor het groepsproces en geen besef van wat men, met name de therapeut, aanrichtte. Kan je je voorstellen? Zo ben ik in een neerwaartse spiraal geraakt, met veel opgekropte woede en agressie. Daarom juist durfde ik geen mensen meer zien. De situatie is dan geëscaleerd in het horen van agressieve vrouwenstemmen, begonnen in de jaren '90. Ik heb me daar altijd tegen verzet en 'gezegd' dat ik ze niet kon begrijpen met hun loze kreten. Het was gewoon een absoluut 'NEE' tegen gelijke welke stemmen/schimmen. Dat verzet heb ik altijd volgehouden. Dan zoals reeds gezegd, in 1996 internering. Tijdens mijn opname zijn de vijandige stemmen nog teruggekomen in 1998. Op een gegeven moment zijn ze veranderd omdat ik dan steun ben beginnen krijgen van erg positieve stemmen, die de situatie gewoon overnamen en omkeerden. Ik heb lang in hun gezelschap verkeerd en dank er mijn herstel aan. De slechte stemmen waren helemaal weggedrongen en soms kwamen ze nog tevoorschijn maar dan 'in het defensief'. Ze konden het me nog moeilijk maken soms. Maar de goede stemmen overheersten en hadden het voor het zeggen. In 2005 ben ik vanuit de instelling beschermd gaan wonen, zoals tot nu toe. met stemmen en alles. Onlangs, op 15 november 2007 om 0.45', heb ik de bemoeizieke stemmen definitief weten uit te schakelen. 'Je hebt je godsdienstwaanzinnige menigte verslagen' weerklonk het, als de commentaar van een mannenstem. Sindsdien heb ik de 'symptomen' stelselmatig weten afnemen. zodat ik nu bijna zonder ben. En indien nog eens iets zich roert als stem of schim, is dat wanneer ik in het duister in mijn bed lig, voor het inslapen. Ik ben zo uitgebreid op mijn wedervaren ingegaan, omdat ik mezelf niet alleen als ervaringdeskundige beschouw, maar als volledig hersteld en gezond. In België vind je daar geen gehoor voor. En ervaringsdeskundigen werkzaam in en rond de psychiatrie...al helemaal niet. Mischien was niet hier de plaats om met mijn geval uit te pakken. Vergeef me mijn indiscretie dan. Met vriendelijke groeten, Frank Naessen Leemputstraat 73 B-2600 Berchem
  2. Gunter Rafalak – January 25, 2008 @ 12:06 PM
    Hello Professor Romme, Do you know or have you heard of a good social psychiatrist in Sydney, Australia? I would like to consult one. I'm a voice hearer. Gunter Rafalak
  3. Erskine – March 25, 2008 @ 04:16 AM
    Thankyou Dr. Romme, This is a great site. I have just recently found your site and am impressed with its format and content. It is helping me tremendously in removing the concept of isolation that I had formed in my mind. It may not be the correct thing to say but it is a good feeling to know that so many others are experiencing and coping with a similar experience. Do you think that you can find a way for us to non verbally communicate with each other instead of having to listen to these sometimes insensitive voices. Perhaps a code word or phrase that would identify us as a community. Yes I know that I am sounding farfetched and somewhat optimistic. But I hear voices and no real explanation has ever been given as to why. Thanks for the site and for some reason [probably happiness] I can't resist the urge to say. Errraah, "WHATS UP DOC".
  4. isa lopes – April 10, 2008 @ 05:29 PM
    o dr zagalo teve um avc
  5. isa lopes – April 12, 2008 @ 04:54 PM
    em portugal há muita desumanidade muita maldade. os supostos psiquiatras destratam completamente as pessoas que sofrem alem de ministrarem excesso de psicotropicos. dao neurolelicas a crianças a adolescentes a adultos e a idosos de qualquer maneira muitas vezes sem peso nem medida.é por demais .extremamente desumano e não trata ninguem. antes pelo contrario. as pessoas são mal tradatadas nos hospitais demasiado em excesso extremo. mesmo cá fora. e as leis não ajudam muito. devia ser tudo completamente revisto e humanisado.para bem de todos dos que sofrem e de todos os outros. saudações
  6. isa lopes – April 12, 2008 @ 04:58 PM
    em portugal há muita desumanidade muita maldade. os supostos psiquiatras destratam completamente as pessoas que sofrem alem de ministrarem excesso de psicotropicos. dao neurolelicas a crianças a adolescentes a adultos e a idosos de qualquer maneira muitas vezes sem peso nem medida.é por demais .extremamente desumano e não trata ninguem. antes pelo contrario. as pessoas são mal tradatadas nos hospitais demasiado em excesso extremo. mesmo cá fora. e as leis não ajudam muito. devia ser tudo completamente revisto e humanisado.para bem de todos dos que sofrem e de todos os outros. saudações
  7. corarosa – April 15, 2008 @ 11:07 PM
    em portugal a psiquiatria e´mais um mal do que um bem. há excessos nos hospitais de ´"medicos" e infermeiros. muito hospitalisado e´muito frequentemente brutalizado de muitas maneiras desumanas.isto tem de modar e muita gente assim o quer.por isso as pessoas tem de ser tratadas como seres humanos e não como coisas objectos sem vontade nem sentimentos nem dor. devem ser bem tratadas.alem de que não deve haver pressões e chantagem emocionais terriveis. tudo tem de mudar.tem de entender o que leva as pessoas a actuar de maneira nao considerada normal a enterder isso, e´a chave dos problemas.infelismente em portugal as pessoas são maltratadas de muitas maneiras e isso em certos locais aida mais como por exemplo nos hospitais e com mais ética que quase não existe.aqui nao existe democracia nenhuma nem liberdade
  8. Marcella – April 29, 2008 @ 11:14 PM
    Proffesor Romme, I used Meth for six years. During that time I started hearing voices. I was also in such a bad relationship, that now I believe that also contributed to my onset of hearing voices. Although my drug addiction has been over for almost a year and the voices have almost gone away, a couple weeks ago some thing triggered the hell that I was going through when my voices started and they started to return. I joined a voice hears group on yahoo(which I found through this site) and I should be starting therapy in a couple of weeks. The group has helped with copeing with my voices and I think therapy will help me overcome the problems of this past bad relationship. I don't take meds because of side effects and recent suicide attempts. I also think they are just a band-aide not the real cure. They may make life a lot easier for some, but I feel they take all your emotion and your fight to find a solution. I'm not downing the fact that anyone takes meds, for some it is way to cope. And my first break in my voices were while takeing meds. I really thought it was going to be away of life for me. I actully welcomed it. And I know it is hard to find a doctor you can trust. I'm still on that quest. Maybe it's because I have had such a break in my voices that feel this way about meds. But to you all it's something to really think about. I wish to all voice hearers who suffer that they can find a solution and hopefully come of meds. It has been a hard fight but I think it has been worth it. Take care and don't give up! I would like to add that I was once told that there is such a thin line between my drugs use and something else causing the onset of my voices that there is no way to tell which it is. Most doctors tell me drugs and want me on meds to ease the voices. Has there been any studies on this and where do I find more info? Thank you Marcella USA
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