by Eoin Toomey

The event was held in a large sports hall. There was a main venue and four smaller rooms where presentations were made. Some of the presentations were beautiful testimonies of recovery, acceptance and meaning – making in people who had experienced unusual sensory experiences in their lives. Others were related to tapering psychiatric drugs, wildness, the healing power of art, archetypal voices, voices and visions in literature, ways of working with voices, mdma-assisted psychotherapy, intentional peer support, the Maastricht interview and many others. 

The atmosphere was cordial, friendly and where many friends new and old meet. 

After the introduction by Jorn, organiser of the Congress and friendly, good-humoured Dane, we listened to the first keynote by Kellie Stastny on stigma, shame and hearing voices. Unpacking and understanding hearing voices and being aware of the dynamics of guilt & shame which can surround this while telling her story. Kellie is chairperson of Intervoice. 

Then followed Mick with ‘It’s all in my head’ to explore ways to work towards creating meaning, relationships and collaboration with one’s voices. 

Next were concurrent sessions. Peter Bullimore on paranoia; Kate Crawford on how writing helped her with her childhood traumas & voices; and Robin Thomas & Elisabeth Svanholmer on wildness, Nature & voices.

I attended Micheal Cidlik’s talk on archetypal voices, which examined patterns in voice-hearing and what psychological archetypes underpin them.

In other concurrent sessions, aspects explored were: supporting young voice-hearers; experiences of the Bradford HV group; stories of acceptance and recovery; and advancing the HVN approach in services and community. 

Eduard Leao from Brazil examined non-verbal resources for dealing with the understanding of voices such as art, Open Dialogue and HV, navigating extreme states in the menopausal transition, family approaches to recovery in voice-hearing, the Maastricht interview, art therapy – outsider art or Art Brût. Finishing the day was J Dillon with compassionate approaches to voice-hearing. 

Day Two 

Keynotes: Micheal Cidlik, chairperson HVN Denmark on working with visions, Sugar Thiruchelvam on intersections between colonialism, colonial brutality and her voice-hearing story having immigrant parents. 

Other talks included: Anders Sorenson on voice-hearing, psychotropic drugs, and tapering; Mette Askov on changing narratives in the world of mental health and hearing voices; CHIME; non-pathological ways of understanding voices; Nature therapy; Rufus May focusing on the values of the HVN approach e.g. valuing different perspectives; the wisdom of lived experience; community development; and mutual help and mutual learning. Afternoon sessions were on being a mother and a voice hearer; Dirk Corstens et al on talking with voices or voice-dialogue; and Bernadette & I on Peer support. Some more talks involving personal stories of recovery, the Greek HVN with their theatre group, online hearing voices groups, and MDMA-assisted psychotherapy.