Hearing Voices Network
When I first attended a Hearing Voices group, I made more personal progress in an afternoon than I had the previous year. There was something refreshing - even magical - about sitting in a gathering of people with lived experience, each of whom had the freedom to frame their experiences using whatever framework they chose. In an atmosphere of mutual respect and equality - where all belief systems were welcome - we could each hear the sound of our own voices as well as one another's. No one was persuading anyone else to change their views. Instead, each of us could share and explore whatever was on our mind in the moment using language of our choosing. During that meeting I heard others tell stories that were quite similar to my own, yet they seemed open to the idea, as I did, that their experiences contained something meaningful and were more than just "mental illness." The conversation was illuminating and life-changing.
I drove over five hours to attend that first meeting and it was more than worth it. I began to drive to Portland regularly because the HVN group there was better than any resource in my local community. This is why I trained as an HVN group facilitator and established a group called Puget Sound Hearing Voices in 2015. Since then the group has met over 200 times and has provided a space for exploration and liberation for people throughout the Seattle/Tacoma region.
In 2019 I established the Pacific Rim Hearing Voices Network with a grant from the Foundation for Excellence in Mental Health Care, now called Open Excellence. I have written curriculum, delivered dozens of public presentations and have worked to establish a greater footprint for HVN in the Pacific Northwest and broader Pacific Rim. I have trained facilitators in Seattle, Salem, Eugene, Portland, Hawaii and Guam. Since the arrival of COVID-19 I shifted my mission to the establishment, facilitation and technical support of seven weekly online HVN meetings. We have hosted over 150 meetings and our groups have been attended by experiencers and supporters throughout the United States, Pacific Islands and even Europe. Our groups are open to people from any geographical region.
Are you interested in attending an online HVN meeting? Would you like to know more about the Hearing Voices approach? Or would you like to get trained as a facilitator to start your own Hearing Voices group? Contact me and I look forward to working with you.
I drove over five hours to attend that first meeting and it was more than worth it. I began to drive to Portland regularly because the HVN group there was better than any resource in my local community. This is why I trained as an HVN group facilitator and established a group called Puget Sound Hearing Voices in 2015. Since then the group has met over 200 times and has provided a space for exploration and liberation for people throughout the Seattle/Tacoma region.
In 2019 I established the Pacific Rim Hearing Voices Network with a grant from the Foundation for Excellence in Mental Health Care, now called Open Excellence. I have written curriculum, delivered dozens of public presentations and have worked to establish a greater footprint for HVN in the Pacific Northwest and broader Pacific Rim. I have trained facilitators in Seattle, Salem, Eugene, Portland, Hawaii and Guam. Since the arrival of COVID-19 I shifted my mission to the establishment, facilitation and technical support of seven weekly online HVN meetings. We have hosted over 150 meetings and our groups have been attended by experiencers and supporters throughout the United States, Pacific Islands and even Europe. Our groups are open to people from any geographical region.
Are you interested in attending an online HVN meeting? Would you like to know more about the Hearing Voices approach? Or would you like to get trained as a facilitator to start your own Hearing Voices group? Contact me and I look forward to working with you.
