Voices in our Heads: The Prefrontal Cortex as Parasite

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As I considered the voice I heard talking to me in my own head, it occurred to me that what was happening was, more or less,Ā a later development of the brainĀ talking to a more basic and earlier level of consciousness,Ā one which was not verbal itself and was, in fact, the actual seat and locus of my real awareness.

Gradual Tapering is Most Successful for Withdrawal from Antipsychotics

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Mixed-Methods study explores the experiences of antipsychotic discontinuation among service users.

AVATAR Therapy Shows Some Positive Outcomes, Now What?

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In a commentary piece, Ben Alderson-Day and Nev Jones discuss the AVATAR therapy research for psychosis and propose further questions.

Hearing Voices Network Responds to Susan Inman HuffPo Piece

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On Saturday morning, Susan Inman, writing for HuffPost Canada, published ā€œWhat Youā€™re not Hearing About the Hearing Voices Movement.ā€ In it, she criticizes HVM for ā€œfailing to differentiate between the needs of people who actually have psychotic disorders and those who don't.ā€ On Sunday the Bay Area Hearing Voices Network published an open letter in response, writing: ā€œMs. Inman has profoundly mischaracterized hearing voices networks (HVNs) and also demonstrates a troubling lack of understanding of the empirical literature on psychosis, optimal psychosocial intervention and recovery.ā€

The Politics of Mental Health

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In this piece forĀ Revolutionary Socialism in the 21st Century, Hazel Croft argues for a more radical approach to mental health, exploringĀ the impact of neoliberal...
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Advice on Coping With Voices

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What are some tactics used by voices, and what can you do about it? I hope the suggestions in this piece can help desperate voice-hearers become more understanding of the forces behind their agony, and perhaps bring a more enlightened perspective to the chemically-lobotomizing tendencies of their psychiatrists who treat voices with more medication.

Researchers Question Add-On Treatment for ‘Schizophrenia’

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A common practice when antipsychotics are found to be ineffective for schizophrenia is to prescribe a second, additional psychoactive medication. Now, a new study suggests that this practice is not supported by the research.

Exercise Intervention for Youth at Risk for Psychosis Shows Promise

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A new pilot study finds that an exercise intervention can lead to improvement in clinical, social, and cognitive domains for those deemed at risk for psychosis.

A Life Hearing Voices: How I Manage Auditory Hallucinations

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Shanika Ranasinghe speaks to ELLE about her experience of hearing voices, the stigma attached to voice-hearing and the tools that have helped her cope,Ā such...

New York Times Issues Correction on RAISE Study Report

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Last Tuesday, The New York Times and several other outlets (including Mad In America) reported on the highly-touted results of a study on psychosocial treatment for patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Now, claims made about the study, which the ā€˜Times called ā€œthe most rigorous trial to date,ā€ are coming under increased scrutiny.

Study Examines Voice Hearing Accounts of 499 Nonclinical Individuals

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Researchers look at voice hearing experiences shared by nonclinical samples, exploring these experiences in the general population.

Individuals with Psychosis Symptoms More Likely to be Victimized

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Individuals diagnosed with a psychotic disorder are 4-6 times more likely than the general population to experience victimization.
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Process Oriented Approaches to Altered and Extreme States of Consciousness

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When John Herold went to see a Process Work counselor, they talked about how his experience of extreme states had been disruptive in his life, but how these states also had value. The counselor compared John's experience with drinking an entire bottle ofĀ TabascoĀ sauce all at once. Why not instead, the counselor suggested, "try being just aĀ littleĀ psychotic all the time?"

Barriers to Engaging in Self-Help CBT for Voice Hearing

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Individuals with lived experience and clinicians share about barriers and facilitators to guided self-help CBT for voice hearing.

Changing Societyā€™s Whole Approach to ā€˜Psychosisā€™

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Fifteen years ago this month we were sitting together in the basement of Peterā€™s house. We had felt a sense of despair at the widespread misinformation and atrocious stereotypes that were dominating media coverage of mental health at the time. We felt that our profession had a responsibility to challenge these stereotypes, and that as psychologists we had something unique to contribute. That was the time when research into the psychology of psychosis was beginning to burgeon, and many of our findings challenged not only the stereotypes but ā€“ perhaps more significantly - much ā€˜accepted wisdomā€™ within mental health services as well.

Understanding Madness as Revolution, Then Working Toward Peace

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While some will frame Eleanor Longdenā€™s story, told in her awesome TED video (which has now been viewed about 1/2 million times!), as the triumph of an individual struggling against ā€œmental illness,ā€ I believe the story might better be seen as a refutation of the whole ā€œillness of the mindā€ metaphor, and as an indication of a desperate need for a new paradigm.

Researchers Explore Sexuality and Gender in the Context of Psychosis

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Nev Jones and a team of researchers examine how sex, sexuality, and gender-related content are underexplored in contemporary research on psychosis.

Large Study Confirms Elevated Risk of Diabetes When Prescribed Antipsychotics

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A large longitudinal study finds once more that being prescribed antipsychotics significantly increases the risk of diabetes.

Study Finds Hearing Voices Groups Improve Social and Emotional Wellbeing

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Hearing Voices Network self-help groups are an important resource for coping with voice hearing, study finds.

Becoming a Hearing Voices Facilitator

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For three days in December, I was fortunate enough to attend the Hearing Voices Facilitator Training held in Portland, OR. This training expanded my understanding of the voice hearing experience and equipped me with a number of tools to use in facilitating hearing voices support groups. Grounded in a feeling of community, the training was dynamic, emotionally therapeutic, and educational all at the same time ā€“ a crystal clear example of how support groups themselves might manifest in the lives of their members.

Creatively Managing Voice-Hearing Through Spiritual Writing

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I am a psychiatric survivor of over thirty-six years. Since my nervous breakdown in 1978, I have undergone multitudinous experiences ranging from the subtly humiliating to the horrifically debilitating at the hands of incompetent psychiatrists and psychopharmacologists who, in the name of medicine, did more harm than good.

Group Mindfulness Shows Promise Reducing Depression Associated with Hearing Voices

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A new study out of Kings College London found that twelve sessions of a group mindfulness-based therapy relieved distress associated with hearing voices while reducing depression over the long-term. The person-based cognitive therapy (PBCT) intervention had significant effects on depression, voice distress, voice controllability and overall recovery.

Rachel Waddingham’s Recovery From Psychiatric Labeling and Unnecessary Treatment

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Rachel's recovery from psychiatric labelling and unnecessary treatment from CEP.

Disease Theory of ā€˜Mental Illnessā€™ Tied To Pessimism About Recovery

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Researchers recently completed a first of its kind, large-scale international survey of attitudes about mental health and they were surprised by the results. According to their analysis published in this monthā€™s issue of the Journal of Affective Disorders, people in developed countries, like the United States, are more likely to assume that ā€˜mental illnessesā€™ are similar to physical illnesses and biological or genetic in origin, but they are also much less likely to think that individuals can overcome these challenges and recover

The Touch of Madness

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In this piece forĀ Pacific Standard, David Dobbs recounts the story of Nev Jones, a psychologist with lived experience who is working to change the...