Accepting Voices

13 people describe their experiences of hearing voices. The book illustrates that many people hear voices and that not everyone has recourse to psychiatry, but that there are ways of coping which enable people to come to terms with their experience. It focuses on techniques to deal with voices, emphasizing that personal growth should be stimulated rather than inhibited.

Just under 10 years ago, the authors triggered a seismic shift in the understanding of voice-hearing. They put the powerful case for accepting and validating people's own interpretations of their voices, and showed how such interpretations often enabled people to live with them far more effectively than bio-medical approaches. This handbook for practitioners builds on this work. It combines examples with guidance on the various processes involved in enabling voice-hearers to deal with their voices and lead an active and fulfilling life.

Practical help for managing distressing voice hearing experiences Have you ever heard someone talking to you, but when you turned around no one was there? Voice hearing is more common than might be expected. Many of those who experience this phenomenon won't find it distressing, while some may find it extremely upsetting and even debilitating. Although the causes of voice hearing are many and varied, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has been found to be a highly effective treatment for distressing voices. CBT can provide a powerful and positive way of coping with distressing voices, helping people to live well, even though the voice hearing may continue. Written by experts, this accessible self-help manual takes those affected by distressing voices on a journey of recovery and healing, based on the latest psychological research. Includes: · Clear explanations of what distressing voices are and what causes them · Techniques to explore and re-evaluate the links between self-esteem, beliefs about voices and feelings · Practical steps to reduce the distress that hearing voices causes · Consideration of the impact on friends and family, and advice for how they can help Overcoming self-help guides use clinically-proven techniques to treat long-standing and disabling conditions, both psychological and physical. Many guides in the Overcoming series are recommended under the Reading Well Books on Prescription scheme. Series Editor: Professor Peter Cooper

Records of people experiencing verbal hallucinations or 'hearing voices' can be found throughout history. Voices of Reason, Voices of Insanity examines almost 2,800 years of these reports including Socrates, Schreber and Pierre Janet's "Marcelle", to provide a clear understanding of the experience and how it may have changed over the millenia. Through six cases of historical and contemporary voice hearers, Leudar and Thomas demonstrate how the experience has metamorphosed from being a sign of virtue to a sign of insanity, signalling such illnesses as schizophrenia or dissociation. They argue that the experience is interpreted by the voice hearer according to social categories conveyed through language, and is therefore best studied as a matter of language use. Controversially, they conclude that 'hearing voices' is an ordinary human experience which is unfortunately either mystified or pathologised. Voices of Reason, Voices of Insanity offers a fresh perspective on this enigmatic experience and will be of interest to students, researchers and clinicians alike.

Provides the evidence to show it's possible to overcome problems with hearing voices and take back control of one's life.

An invaluable sourcebook on the complex relationship between psychosis, trauma, and dissociation, thoroughly revised and updated This revised and updated second edition of Psychosis, Trauma and Dissociation offers an important resource that takes a wide-ranging and in-depth look at the multifaceted relationship between trauma, dissociation and psychosis. The editors – leaders in their field – have drawn together more than fifty noted experts from around the world, to canvas the relevant literature from historical, conceptual, empirical and clinical perspectives. The result documents the impressive gains made over the past ten years in understanding multiple aspects of the interface between trauma, dissociation and psychosis. The historical/conceptual section clarifies the meaning of the terms dissociation, trauma and psychosis, proposes dissociation as central to the historical concepts of schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder, and considers unique development perspectives on delusions and the onset of schizophrenia. The empirical section of the text compares and contrasts psychotic and dissociative disorders from a wide range of perspectives, including phenomenology, childhood trauma, and memory and cognitive disturbances, whilst the clinical section focuses on the assessment, differential diagnosis and treatment of these disorders, along with proposals for new and novel hybrid disorders. This important resource: • Offers extensive updated coverage of the field, from all relevant perspectives • Brings together in one text contributions from scholars and clinicians working in diverse geographical and theoretical areas • Helps define and bring cohesion to this new and important field • Features nine new chapters on: conceptions of trauma, dissociation and psychosis, PTSD with psychotic features, delusions and memory, trauma treatment of psychotic symptoms, and differences between the diagnostic groups on hypnotizability, memory disturbances, brain imaging, auditory verbal hallucinations and psychological testing Written for clinicians, researchers and academics in the areas of trauma, child abuse, dissociation and psychosis, but relevant for psychiatrists, psychologists and psychotherapists working in any area, the revised second edition of Psychosis, Trauma and Dissociation makes an invaluable contribution to this important evolving field.

Innovative research requires courageous methods. With this in mind, Courageous Methods in Cultural Psychology invites students and post-graduate researchers to develop methods that will let them grasp phenomena of interest more fully. Readers will learn how to use established methods, and may be asked to develop them further by combining single steps of extant procedures, or by taking a completely new approach to data collection and analysis. In this book, diverse researchers present projects in which they have tried to do just that. A comprehensive process — from narrowing down research questions to collecting and analyzing data — is given in detail, followed by critical reflections on how well the authors have understood and shared complex realities. Project presentations are framed by theoretical chapters that deal with the challenges and opportunities of cultural psychology and interdisciplinary research. Courageous Methods in Cultural Psychology is sure to inspire and encourage those who wish to venture on new roads “into the wild.”

An understanding of the theories that shape and define mental health policy and practice is essential for every mental health nurse. This book gives you the knowledge you need to understand those complex and varying theories, concepts and approaches. It helps you to deconstruct mental health and become a critical practitioner by drawing on a wealth of literature and research. Topics covered include cognitive behavioural therapy, recovery, risk and critical theories. Every Chapter includes: - Learning objectives and chapter summaries which highlight the key points. - A detailed case study which challenges you to relate theory to practice. - An explanation of the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. It will be essential reading for all students of mental health nursing at pre-registration and practitioner level. It will also be valuable reading for those taking broader courses in mental health. Theo Stickley is Associate Professor of Mental Health at the University of Nottingham. Nicola Wright is Lecturer in Mental Health at the University of Nottingham.