The 8th World Hearing Voices Congress was hosted by REV France, the French Hearing Voices Network.
Making History, Owning Our Stories
19 – 22nd October 2016, Paris (France)
Summary of the Congress
- Wednesday 19 October – Intervoice Day & Evening Public Event (plenary conference)
- Thursday 20 & Friday 21 October – The World Hearing Voices Congress, made exclusively of workshops
- Saturday 22nd October – Public Forum
Wednesday 19th
10h-16h Intervoice Day: « Honouring our past, sharing our futures”
On the river Seine
At: Au pied de la Tour Eiffel, Ponton des vedettes de Paris, Quai de Suffren
Intervoice is a charity that supports the International Hearing Voices Movement. During the Intervoice Day, we had the opportunity to come together, as members of this movement, to share experiences, hear about new initiatives, discuss challenges and think about the where we want to go in the future.
During the day we had the opportunity to:
- Hear from national Hearing Voices Networks and find out what’s happening around the world
- Find out about interesting initiatives, including:
- Donatella Miccinesi (Italy): Educational-training courses organised by users and carers
- Christian Gebel & Olivier Kremer (France): Nurses start a Hearing Voices Group within a secure unit
- Akiko Hart (UK): Setting up Hearing Voices Groups in detention centres & working with asylum seekers
- Take part in ‘Open Space’ (an opportunity to take part in smaller discussions on issues that are important to you, with topics chosen by participants)
- Find out who has won this year’s Intervoice Awards
- Share our experiences of being in the movement and think about the future
Cruise from the Eiffel Tower to Bercy at 3pm.
18h-21h Public Event: Making history, Owning our stories
The Hearing Voices movement as a liberation movement for everyone
In the Cité des Sciences de La Villette
with Paul Baker, Vincent Demassiet, Yann Derobert, Eleanor Longden, Marius Romme, & Myreille St-Onge
Thursday 20th & Friday 21st World Hearing Voices Congress
Seven Steps Off The Beaten Track
Workshops in Maison des associations de solidarité (13e)
Participants were given the opportunity to live through a 7 workshops-journey designed exclusively for them.
Workshops facilitators included:
Mette Askov (DK), Ivan Barry (DE), Nejma Benamore (FR), Lien Boetje (NL), Richard Breton (CA), Lara Brglez (SI), Berta Britz (US), Linda Brown (US), Peter Bullimore (UK), Arturo Cannarozzo (IT), Ron Coleman (UK), Dirk Corstens (NL), Sherry Craig (CA), Fulvia Crivellaro (IT), Michelle Dalton (IE), Brigitte David (FR), Gaia DeMarzo (IT), Yann Derobert (FR), Anne-Laure Donskoy (UK), Emanuela Dova (IT), Pascale Laurence Ducos (FR), Marie-Christine Dufour (CA), Alexandre Dumais (CA), Cece Egan (UK), Kate Fiske (AU), Lisa Forestell (US), Eve Gardien (FR), Eleanor Gilbert (UK), Les Gilbert (UK), Katheuryne Grefford (CA), Isabelle Hadengue (FR), Will Hall (US), Julien Hennebo (FR), Xavier Hernandez (FR), Lucy Johnstone (UK), Alain Karinthi (FR), Eoin Kelly (UK), Michel Knols (NL), Hana Kosan (SI), Catherine Lachance (CA), Cloe Laurendeau (FR), Patrick Le Cardinal (FR), Craig Lewis (US), Marcello Macario (IT), Judy Mantle (UK), Elise Massin (FR), Conor McCormack (UK), Isabelle Moretti (CA), Sara Moretti (IT), Eve Mundy (UK), Evy Noordman (NL), Marilena Piretti (IT), Slobodan Popovic (UK), Lorna Ritchie (DE), Sandrine Rousseau (CA), Olga Runciman (DN), Paolo Scorzoni (IT), Sarah Sewell (AU), René Sicard (CA), Catherine Simmonds (AU), Brigitte Soucy (CA), Lyudmyla Steblinska (IT), Seetha Subbiah (SG), Karen Taylor (UK), Caroline Thibault (CA), Ros Thomas (AU), Serge Tracy (CA), Serge Tracy (CA), Jo Twist (UK), David van den Berg (NL), Maria Ria Vecchio (IT), Joel Waddingham (UK), Rachel Waddingham (UK), Caroline White (US), Angela Woods (UK)…
and other members of the Hearing Voices Networks!
+ A special workshop (in partnership with REV France and Collectif l’Humain Visible)
Participants who felt the need to express a story that changed their life (for the better or the worse) had the opportunity to take part in an optional individualised workshop where two facilitators, Xavier & Yann, were at their service, finding together the best way to express and share that story with the world.
Saturday 22nd: Public Events
In the Cité des sciences de La Villette
10h-13h Challenging popular beliefs in psychiatry: On the origins of psychosis and its treatments
- Richard Bentall: Genetics vs Life Events in the Origins of Psychosis
- John Read: The effects of psychiatry’s bio-genetic ideology: pessimism, stigma, collusion with child abuse and social inequalities
- Lucy Johnstone: Is There a Good Use of Psychiatric Diagnoses?
- Will Hall: People Helping Each Other Getting Off Psychiatric Medications
14h30-17h30 Healing Voices: Movie + Discussion
With Oryx Cohen & PJ Moynihan (producers)
HEALING VOICES is a new feature-length documentary which explores the experiences commonly labelled as “psychosis” or “mental illness” through the real-life stories of individuals working to overcome extreme mental states, and integrate these experiences into their lives in meaningful ways.
More info on: healingvoicesmovie.com
The venue for the Congress (20-21 October) was:
Maison des associations de solidaritè
10-18 rue des Terres au Curè
75013 Paris
See: Google Map of venue
The venue for the Free public events (Wednesday evening conference and Saturday’s public forum) was:
Auditorium of the Citè des sciences et de l’industrie,
30 avenue Corentin Cariou,
75019 Paris.
See: Venue website