Short film - Hearing Voices and Recovery

The film introduces constructive, normalising and depathologising approaches to hearing voices and similar experiences, which continue to only slowly be known and/or practised only in some psychiatric mainstream services. The recordings were made as a side event during the World Hearing Voices Congress 2023 in Paris with some of the many people who respectively have been active for many years within the international Hearing Voices Movement. One of the many defining features of the international Hearing Voices Movement is the muliptlicity of approaches and views on the topic. Accordingly, the views introduced in this short film first and foremost only express some of the experiences and insights of those interviewed. 

Please note: many practical and theoretical insights hard won in the context of the Hearing Voices Movement have by now been confirmed by specialised hearing voices research (compare e.g. Parker et al., 2021 - “The Practical Handbook of Hearing Voices. Therapeutic and Creative Approaches."). As a result it is now clear that the long held - often until today - opinion within psychiatric contexts, that hearing voices in particular forms is a sign of specific illnesses or diagnoses, can no longer stand. Instead, a positive accepting approach to voices and similar experiences is now needed.

Vincent Demassier
As a chair of the French Hearing Voices Network he has lived experience of hearing voices and recovery. He has been working as a trainer, group facilitator, mentor, author and activist for many years.

Robin Timmers
As a member of Stichting Weerklank (Dutch Hearing Voices Network) and the founder of the Hearing Voices Support Centres in the Netherlands he has lived experience of hearing voices and recovery. He has been working as a trainer, innovator, author and activist for many years.

Caroline Mazel-Carlton
As an educator & advocate with the Wildflower Alliance and a member of the board of the Hearing Voices Network USA she has lived experience of hearing voices and recovery. She has been working as a trainer, group facilitator, innovator, mentor, author and activist for many years.

Dirk Corstens
As a member and former chair of the board of Intervoice (umbrella organisation of the Hearing Voices Movement) he has been working as a trainer, researcher, author and mentor for over 30 years and has innovated many important approaches. 

Joachim Schnackenberg
As a co-founder of the efc Institute he has been working with the hearing voices approach since the year 2000, inspired and mentored by many voice hearers and voices along the way. He has been working as a hearing voices practitioner, trainer, researcher, author and supervisor for many years in both short and long term statutory mental health settings in several countries (particularly in the UK and the German speaking countries). He is also the clinical director of hearing voices and recovery in the Diakoniewerk Kropp, Germany. 

Seetha Subbiah
Seetha has been working with a depathologising hearing voices approach since 2002. She has also been working as a trainer, mentor and pioneer in her work with children hearing voices.

Karen Tylor
Karen has been working as a trainer, consultant, supervisor, innovator and author on hearing voices and similar experiences for many years, most recently as part of Working to Recovery (Scotland based and internationally active).