Michael Ryan – Chairperson
My name is Mike. I have been a voice hearer for as long as I can remember but most intensely over the last 15 years or so. I contacted the HVNI about 8 years ago and have remained in some contact since then. I have done a few training sessions with them. I have been going to a HV group for the last while on zoom in Texas in the U.S. and felt inspired to set up a zoom group in Ireland. I believe pier support has been helpful to myself and people in the group. I am humbled to have been given the title Chairperson of HVNI and intend to do the best I can do for the movement around my 9-5 job.
Harry Gijbels – Treasurer
I am a retired mental health nurse and academic with over 40 years of experience in challenging mental health practices and education. I first heard about the hearing voices movement back in the early 90’s. I started attending HV workshops in the late 00’s. In and around 2012 I became involved in organising workshops in Ireland, leading in 2015 to the launch of the Hearing Voices Network Ireland (HVNI). I have been a HVNI board member since that time in various roles.
Ciara McEnteggart – Webmaster
My name is Ciara McEnteggart. I am a psychologist and have been involved with the Hearing Voices Network for many years after attending a training with Jacqui Dillon in 2012 and was a member of the founding committee of HVNI in 2015. I have a passion for creative and alternative perspectives to understanding wellbeing.
Katy Desmond
Hello, my name is Katy, I am a Social Work Team Leader in an adult mental health service. I work in a dialogical and relational way with individuals, families, and networks. I understand mental health care and mental distress through a person centred social model of care, guided by principles of social justice and human rights. I co-facilitate two hearing voices groups per month in West Cork, and have done so for last six years. I am on the committee of the Hearing Voices Network Ireland and on the organising committee of the Irish Intervoice Congress. I value the opportunity to learn from experts by experience and I feel honoured to be in a position where I can continue to listen and learn from voice hearers in West Cork and further afield.
Maura O’Donovan
I am the Recovery Support Worker on the Home Focus Team (National Learning Network) and have been working with Home Focus since its beginnings in 2006. I am motivated by a desire to support people on their individual journey around recovery and what this means to them. I also work with the Open Dialogue Team and I am Hearing Voices Group Facilitator. I co-facilitate two Hearing Voices Groups in West Cork. I became interested in working with people’s experience of voice hearing and the impact on their lives when people began to speak to me and teach me about their experiences. I feel very passionate about the importance of establishing and maintaining support groups. I am delighted to be a member of the HVNI committee. I am also an accredited counsellor, psychotherapist and cross-professional supervisor.
Eoin Ó Tuama
Survivor of psychiatry for over 25 years, I began hearing voices and seeing visions after third level education. I was sectioned in 1996 for five months and, like most people, had every ‘treatment’ in the book thrown at me. Through survivor/activist groups like IAN, HVN etc. & holistic therapy I was able to recover to a large extent. I still take psychiatric medication and have periodic episodes of voices. I work for the Occupational therapy department of the Donegal Mental Health Services.
Becky Wilkinson
Hi I’m Becky and I started hearing voices after taking medication for tuberculosis. I am now a proud voice hearer and I am doing a masters in psychoanalytic psychotherapy. I run an air bnb, and offer reiki and dinner.
Chris
Hi, my name is Chris, I have been having voice hearing experiences since I was very young. The experiences have been vastly friendly for me so much so, I call them friends. These friends guarded me from the difficulties I have faced in my life. I became involved with the Hearing Voices community in the summer of 2021 and felt immediately accepted. I hope to help the board and community through my extensive experiences as regards voice hearing.
Bruno Nicolai
Hello, my name is Bruno Nicolai. For approximately 20 years I’ve worked in various roles in the community, supporting people to come together to identify their needs and take collective action to solve problems, and supporting individuals to overcome adversity in order to live the life they wish to live. I’m a qualified psychotherapist and I’m employed as a Mental Health Recovery Support Worker at Shine. I have lived-experience of voice hearing, I co-facilitate the Douglas/Cork City Hearing Voices Group, and in the past I’ve co-produced Hearing Voices Training for all staff within my organisation. I look forward to being a Hearing Voices Network Ireland board member; supporting, promoting, and expanding the reach of HVNI’s amazing work, and hopefully getting the opportunity to meet lots of you along the way.