DR. DAN L. EDMUNDS EVENT AT WOODEN SHOE BOOKSTORE IN PHILADELPHIA

DR. DAN L. EDMUNDS WILL BE PRESENTING A TALK 'ANARCHO-PSYCHOLOGY' AT THE WOODEN SHOE BOOKSTORE IN PHILADELPHIA ON FRIDAY, JULY 22 AT 7PM.

for more information, see http://woodenshoebooks.com

or http://facebook.com/humanepsychiatry

Lies As Truth, Truth As Lies and the Numbing of Society

Let us start with this- most of what we have been told and learned is not true. We want it to be true, and we grasp at it as if it were true, we do all possible to make it true, even forcing it to be true. We contort ourselves to fit these 'truths' that are lies. We define ourselves by these lies that masquerade as 'truths'. We breakdown by the inability to know the difference. From childhood to the present, this is our lot. Few unlearn, we are trapped in the illusion.

During the 1960's and 1970's, we saw a period of great unrest, yet persons became actively involved in protest and revolt against the direction of things. This action often led to radical change, such as the civil rights movement. As conflict lessened, by the 1980's we saw a period of prosperity, the US was seen in a powerful position, the promise of wealth trickling down inspired persons, technology began to expand, but with it so did complacency and the development of apathy. By the 1990's this apathy combined with the "Decade of the Brain" where now we had an 'answer' to exonerate personal responsibility and institutions, the idea of chemical imbalances. We no longer had to face any challenging event and work through it, we did not need people, technology would do the trick. We were deceived. By the 2000's we began to see some of the aftermath of rampant psychiatric drugging that has numbed our society in the form of school violence. Black box warnings would follow, but it always seems that whereas critics speak out in regards to a dangerous course, there is almost always a delayed response to hear the critic. By the late 2000's and into the present, the hopes we once had, where we put our ideas of success into how our finances were, all collapsed. The economic situation has tumbled and the capitalist system is in shambles. We are now left with not only apathy and the desire to be numb, but a shift from a focus on communal support to focus solely on the self. We have a disparity in resources, destructive cycles perpetuate themselves in families, we begin to erect barriers amongst ourselves (both figuratively and literally. Our youth now have a misdirected revolt, they do not gather communally and support change together, rather they fight for selfish interest and their rebellion is misdirected and against any who stand in the way of their desire. It was trickle down in the 80's, now the faucet is shut off. And we our shut off to our true selves, shut off to community, not knowing the lies for what they are.


-Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.
humanepsychiatry.com
selfgrowth.com/experts/dan_edmunds.html

BIEBER AND OTHER THOUGHTS

I have noticed that in our society, we are becoming more and more anti-intellectual, and those who who are the 'prophets' within our society, warning of the inherent social dilemmas are typically ignored by the mainstream media. I can think of Noam Chomsky as one example. I can also note that my message of a humane psychiatry is rarely discussed by the mainstream media, and most of my media interviews with the exception of one have been through alternative sources. The reason is that the mainstream media is bought. But not only this, corporate interests infiltrate most of everything. Our athletes wear corporate sponsored gear, our politicians are backed by corporate interests where we really have no choice but to support one corporate backed person over another. Recently, someone asked me my thoughts in regards to Justin Bieber. I feel bad for this young man actually. He is exploited by those around him and he does not know it. He may be enjoying fame now, but as with many young people caught up in this sort of thing, years later, things typically do not go well. We are a society based solely on seeking entertainment wherever it may be, we are apathetic, numb, and we do not want to have to actually respond to any real questions or challenges about where we are going and the course of our society.

-Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.
http://selfgrowth.com/experts/dan_edmunds.html

The Meeting of Two Persons: What Therapy Should Be (Lecture at 13th Annual ICSPP Conference, Syracuse, NY) by Dr. Dan L. Edmunds

The Meeting of Two Persons: What Therapy Should Be (Lecture at 13th Annual ICSPP Conference, Syracuse, NY) by Dr. Dan L. Edmunds

'Sane in an Insane World' - Freedomain Radio Interviews Dr Dan Edmunds

RESTORING COMMUNITY AND THE PROCESS OF UNLEARNING BY DR. DAN L. EDMUNDS, ED.D.

One of the most destructive problems is the breakdown of community, and it is this breakdown that has often led to the breakdown of persons. Though we may put many around us, we are alone. Relationships have become superficial, there is no longer concern for the other, and we are pressed by societal and financial pressures to focus on our own survival. We do not concern ourselves much with the plight of others except a few we may call family or friends, and even then, our concern and attention is waning. It is this which is leading to numerous dilemmas for our children and the diagnosis of a gamut of so-called mental disorders and the their mass drugging to subdue them and force their conformity to a system of madness, a system they and most despise but which continues to perpetuate itself. We may have at one time gone to our neighbors home and asked for an ingredient for a dish and they would give it and invite us in. Today, do we even know our neighbor, do we even care to know our neighbor?
And so we go along wearing masks throughout the day, playing the game, taking upon us the various roles. I see the impact of this upon our children, who become torn when made a pawn in this game. Families seek to project the goodly image to the outside while the reality is that there is immense turmoil and conflict. For some of these children, they begin to become part of the masking reality as well. I recall a young man I worked with whose family life was strained and there had been a lot of traumatic events and harshness. In the beginning, he presented his family as ‘golden’, and denied that anything anyone had noted was of truth. But fortunately over time, he came to grasp the courage and ability to think critically to challenge the way things were and to present reality to the family. And it certainly did require immense courage as in these situations the secrets are safely guarded and no one wants them exposed for what they are. The reaction was to be expected, the blame was shifted, and the young man was made to be the scapegoat and threats issued as to what would happen if he did not change his thinking and accept the myth the family held to. I have seen this similar dynamic in situations of sexual abuse that involves a relative. The only way that the young man was able to finally come to the point of challenging the family system and surviving the verbal assaults was by having one from the outside who had been able to forge a connection with both him and the family. In this, it was possible to advocate for the young man and also challenge the other family members but in a diplomatic way. This tactic worked and it was agreed upon that certain ways of interacting would need to be worked upon. They left behind the myth and came to face reality.
So if we are to truly be alive, to truly move beyond surviving to thriving, if we are to truly be human beings rather than alienated beings or drugged zombies, then we are going to need to return to the sense of community, to lay aside the barriers, and to be able to realize our common humanity. We are going to have to abandon the myths and the games we are often so entrenched within, and accept truth, even when painful.
There are powerful forces at work which pull us to and fro and infect us with ideas of who we are, what we should be, and often block us from becoming. These forces arise within our social and familial structures. We are sent repetitive messages and they become deeply engrained. We may have been told we are not attractive or too attractive, not motivated or too achieving, etc. And we enter the social sphere having absorbed these messages. As we do so we begin a painful process of comparisons. There becomes a striving for something or sometimes nothing at all. But if there is striving, it is for what and for whom? Some sadly seek only to survive, it is all they can do. But if we can realize that no matter what has been dumped upon us and what the conditions are, we retain the choice to become! We have the choice to allow these powerful forces to consume us or to be defiant in the face of them and develop a process of unlearning. In this unlearning, we may be able to break free and emerge into a new world of being.

DR. DAN L. EDMUNDS, ED.D.: LIBERATING VOICE OF COMPASSION IN THE MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM

Dan Lee Edmunds was born in Tampa, Florida. In 1983, he located with his mother to Fort Collins, Colorado and attended public schools there. Edmunds as a teenager developed a keen interest in philosophy and comparative religion and enjoyed visting various religious communities and having discussions and dialogue. Edmunds also developed as a young person a strong interest in social justice and spent alot of time volunteering with various projects (veterans affairs, homeless, program for developmental differences). He became interested in political change, and in 1991 became the youngest legislative aide in the State Senate of Colorado, working in the office of then State Senator Robert W. Schaffer. He later registered as a professional lobbyist and worked on various political campaigns among them the campagin of Corrine Brown for the Third District Congressional Seat in Florida in 1992 which afforded him the opportunity to transport Martin Luther King III to an event at Bethune Cookman College.

In 1993, Edmunds graduated from Fort Collins High School, he returned to Florida, and later entered the University of Florida where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree with major in Religion, minor in Sociology in 1997. Edmunds entered the Orthodox Church and was ordained in 1997 and in the same year entered the Master of Arts program in Theology at the University of Scranton and obtained his degree in 1999. He was admitted to a Doctoral program in Community Counseling at the University of Sarasota and completed post graduate coursework at Nova Southeastern University in Dispute Resolution in 2000. Edmunds served as a chaplain for a nursing care facility for the elderly from 2001 to 2003. Later becoming disillusioned with the Orthodox Church, he became affiliated with the Liberal Catholic Apostolic Church and later the Apostolic Church of the Divine Mysteries. Edmunds received his Doctorate of Education in Community Counseling in 2006 from the University of Sarasota.

In 1999, Edmunds had the opportunity to work with Bobbi Gagne, director of the Sexual Assault Crisis Team of Vermont and was greatly inspired by her. Edmunds began work the following year as a therapist for a behavioral health program for children and adolescents in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Edmunds was initially indifferent to the concept of psychiatric drugging of children and rather unaware of some of the abuses in his field. When he first encountered a young man with tardive dyskinesia from psychiatric drugs, and then began to see some of the issues related to power within the field, this had a major impact on his thinking, and he began to set forward to make changes in how to help and interact with distressed persons. In 2002, Edmunds received training in relational approaches to autism/developmental differences and began work with a number of autistic and developmentally different clients. Edmunds received Board Certification in Sexual Abuse Issues in 2003 from the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. In 2005, he began lecturing on ways to help children and adolescents without resort to psychiatric drugs. it was also in this year that he worked with a young man with a psychotic disorder and set up an experiment to see if relational and community based approaches would be more effective than traditional hospitalization and residential programs. Edmunds found that during the time of interaction with the young person, the project was very successful, but he began to plummet uppn being returned to his home. This and future experiences shaped his idea that emotional distress is brought forward by social, familial, and political factors, and this became the topic for his 2009 book "The Meeting of Two Persons: What Therapy Should Be" which he also presented as a presentation at the October 2010 conference of the International Center for Humane Psychiatry in Syracuse, New York. In 2006, after completing his doctoral degree, Edmunds began private practice in conjuction with working as a psychological associate (conducting evaluations and assessments) and also began writing and speaking. In 2006, he completed the book "They Say My Child Has ADHD: Thinking Outside the Bio-Psychiatric Paradigm". In 2007, he wrote "Navigating Through the Mainstream" which addressed autism and developmental differences. In 2010, he completed "Mystical Metaphors" which was written with a New Zealander artist and university student who underwent what would be labeled as a 'psychotic episode'. Edmunds sought to make this experience understandable and argued that with the proper support, that this journey, though painful and terrifying could lead to a point of transformation. Edmunds also argued that much of what occurs in the mental health profession is to suppress experience which leads to oppression. Edmunds has focused much of his work presently on extreme states of mind and maintains a private practice in Northeastern Pennsylvania and continues to lecture and provide consultation. Dr. Edmunds is Founder of the International Center for Humane Psychiatry, an emancipatory movement for human rights in the mental health system and has been involved in the Society for Laingian Studies and a member of the International Society for the Psychosocial Treatment of Schizophrenia. Dr. Edmunds is adjunct Professor of Existential Psychology and Comparative Religion for European American University. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity in 2007 from St. James Theological Seminary.



www.DrDanEdmunds.com

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BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY/ CONSCIOUSNESS STUDIES

Tonglen is a Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice. Tonglen means 'giving and taking". It is a selfless meditation where the person envisions and takes in the suffering of another person and gives back compassion and thinking of the happiness of others. This is a practice in virtue and is very useful in our developing not only a greater sense of our own happiness, but further empathy for others. The practice is similar to homeopathy or vaccination in that we take in a small mount of poison that helps to innoculate us from future misery.
I had the pleasant opportunity to chat with Marguerite Therese Laing, the wife of the late R.D. Laing who had reminded me of the story of the Buddhist saint Milarepa. In this story, Milarepa had lived a life of luxury later for this to be removed from him by the greed of his Aunt and Uncle. Milarepa later entered black arts and sought revenge on family members he felt harmed him. Later repenting of his actions, he found Marpa as his teacher. Marpa had been harsh with Milarepa and he instructed him to move rocks to construct a building to only then change the plans and Milarepa had to continously rebuild. Milarepa went through periods of despair, but looked at the actions of Marpa and that he did not receive the desired spiritual initiation he sought as a result of his past deeds. Over time, Milarepa through the influence of other teachers, one in the lineage of the Saint Naropa, he came to a state of inner peace.

Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.
www.humanepsychiatry.com

202 W. Tioga St.
Tunkhannock, PA 18657

DoctorEdmunds@DrDanEdmunds.com



-Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.
www.humanepsychiatry.info

INTERVOICE LETTER TO THE OPRAH WINFREY PROGRAM

Dear Oprah

We are writing in response to your programme about “The 7-Year-Old Schizophrenic”, which concerned Jani, a child who hears voices, which was broadcast on the 6th October 2009. We hope to correct the pessimistic picture offered by the mental health professionals featured in your programme, and in the accompanying article on your website. What upset us most and moved us to write to you, is that parents will have been left with the impression that they are powerless to help their children if they hear voices. We are also concerned that the programme gave the impression that children with voices must be treated with medication. We note that the medications mentioned in your programme all have very serious side effects. (For example, antipsychotics such as Haldol cause neuronal loss, block the dopamine pathways in the brain required to processes rewarding stimuli, and carry a high risk of neurological and metabolic side effects such as Parkinsonianism and diabetes. Their effects on the developing brain are largely unknown and, in our view, they should only be given to children as a treatment as absolutely last resort.)

We have been researching and working with adults and children like Jani for the last twenty years, and our work has led us to very different conclusions from those reached by the mental health professionals on your programme. One of our founding members, Dr. Sandra Escher from the Netherlands, has spent the last fifteen years talking to children who hear voices, and to their parents and carers. This work is the most detailed and thorough investigation of children who hear voices carried out to date [1, 2]. The most important findings from recent research on hearing voices are as follows:

Prevalence of voice hearing in adults and children
Recent large-scale population (epidemiological) studies have shown that about 4-10 % of the adult population hear voices at some time in their lives [3-5]. Only about a third seek assistance from mental health services. Amongst children, the proportion hearing voices may be even higher [6] and, again, only a minority are referred for treatment. Hence, it is wrong to assume that voice hearing is always a pathological condition requiring treatment.

Psychological mechanisms
Everyone has an inner voice. Psychologists call this phenomenon ‘inner speech’ and it is an important mechanism that we use to regulate our own behaviour (plan what we want to do, direct our own actions). Child psychologists have long understood that this ability begins to develop at about 2-years of age [7, 8]. Hearing voices seems to reflect some kind of differentiation in the mind’s ability to tell the difference between inner speech and the heard speech of other people [9, 10].

Link to trauma
A common theme in research with both adults and children is the relationship between hearing voices and traumatic experiences. In adults, around 75% begin to hear voices in relationship to a trauma or situations that make them feel powerless [11-13], for example the death of a loved one, divorce, losing a job, failing an exam, or longer lasting traumas such as physical, emotional or sexual abuse. The role of trauma was identified in 85% of the children we have studied, for example being bullied by peers or teachers, or being unable to perform to the required level at school, or being admitted to a hospital because of a physical illness. In short, our research has shown that hearing voices is usually a reaction to a situation or a problem that the child is struggling to cope with.

Voices have a meaning A related and equally striking finding is that the voices often refer to the problem that troubles the child, but in an elliptical manner. To take just one example from the children studied by Sandra Escher:

The voices told an 8-year-old boy to blind himself. This frightened his mother. But when we discussed whether there was something in the life of the boy he could not face, she understood the voices’ message. The boy could not cope with his parents’ problematic marriage. He did not want to see it.

We wonder whether anyone has attempted to establish why, in Jani’s case, the rat is called "Wednesday", why the girl is called "24 Hours", and why is the cat called "400"? What do these mean for her? Why does Jani want people to call her "Blue-Eyed Tree Frog" and "Jani Firefly"?

Good outcomes without treatment
Recently, Sandra Escher conducted a three-year follow up study of eighty children who heard voices, aged between 8 and 19 [1]. Half received mental health care but the other half were not given any specialist care at all. The children were interviewed four times, at yearly intervals. By the end of the research period 60% of the children reported that their voices had disappeared. Very often, this was because the triggering problems were dealt with or because the child’s situation changed - for example, following a change of schools.

Helping children who hear voices: Advise to parents
It is important to appreciate that the desire to make voices disappear, although usually the goal of the mental health care services, is not necessarily in the best interests of children. Some children do not want to lose their voices. If children can find within themselves the resources to cope with their voices, they can begin to lead happier and more balanced lives.

The most important element in this process is support from the family. Unfortunately, we have found that mental health services often fail to have a positive effect on children’s voices, because they foster fear rather than coping. However, we have found that referral to a psychotherapist who is prepared to discuss the meaning of voices is often helpful.

It is important that parents do not assume that hearing voices is a terrible disaster but instead regard it as a signal that something is troubling their child. If parents assume that voices are a symptom of an illness, and are afraid of them, the child will naturally pick up on this feeling. This can lead to a self-defeating cycle in which the child becomes fearful and obsessed by the voices.

We would like to offer this 10-point guide for parents, indicating what they can do if a child tells them that he or she hears voices:

1. Try not to over react. Although it is understandable that you will be worried, work hard not to communicate your anxiety to your child.

2. Accept the reality of the voice experience for your child; ask about the voices, how long the child has been hearing them, who or what they are, whether they have names, what they say, etc.

3. Let your child know that many other children hear voices and that usually they go away after a while.

4. Even if the voices do not disappear your child may learn to live in harmony with them.

5. It is important to break down your child's sense of isolation and difference from other children. Your child is special - unusual perhaps, but really not abnormal.

6. Find out if your child has any difficulties or problems that he or she finds very hard to cope with, and work on fixing those problems. Think back to when the voices first started. What was happening to your child at the time? Was there anything unusual or stressful occurring?

7. If you think you need outside help, find a therapist who is prepared to accept your child's experiences and work systematically with him or her to understand and cope better with the voices.

8. Be ready to listen to your child if he or she wants to talk about the voices. Use drawing, painting, acting and other creative ways to help the child to describe what is happening in his or her life.

9. Get on with your lives and try not to let the experience of hearing voices become the centre of your child's life or your own.

10. Most children who live well with their voices have supportive families who accept the experience as part of who their child is. You can do this too!

Conclusion
In conclusion we would like to stress that, in our view, labelling a seven-year-old child as schizophrenic and subjecting her to powerful psychotropic medication and periodic hospitalisation is unlikely to help resolve her problems. Indeed, the opposite is most probable: children treated in this way will simply become more powerless. Because your well respected, award winning show reaches out to so many people, we are concerned that there will be many viewers who will be left with the impression that the treatment Jani receives is the only method available. We fear that this may cause some children to be subjected to an unnecessary lifetime in psychiatric care. It is very important to recognise that hearing voices, in itself, is not a sign of psychopathology.

We hope you will give consideration to the possibility of making a future programme showing the other side of the story, one of hope, optimism and with a focus on recovery. Perhaps you could make a programme about a child with similar voice experiences to Jani, who has been helped to come to terms with her or his experiences and to discuss with the child, parents and therapists how this was acheived? If there is anyway we could help make this happen, please contact us.

We look forward to hearing from you on the issues raised in our letter.

Yours sincerely,

Paul Baker
INTERVOICE coordinator
(Letter reedited with the kind assistance of Professor Richard Bentall)

Selected bibliography
1. Escher, S., et al., Independent course of childhood auditory hallucinations: A sequential 3-year follow-up study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 2002. 181 Suppl 43: p. 10-18.
2. Escher, S., et al., Formation of delusional ideation in adolescents hearing voices: A prospective study. American Journal of Medical Genetics (Neuropsychiatric Genetics), in press.
3. Tien, A.Y., Distribution of hallucinations in the population. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 1991. 26: p. 287-292.
4. van Os, J., et al., Strauss (1969) revisited: A psychosis continuum in the normal population? Schizophrenia Research, 2000. 45: p. 11-20.
5. van Os, J., et al., Prevalence of psychotic disorder and community level of psychotic symptoms: An urban-rural comparison. Archives of General Psychiatry, 2001. 58: p. 663-668.
6. Poulton, R., et al., Children's self-reported psychotic symptoms and adult schizophreniform disorder: A 15-year longitudinal study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 2000. 57: p. 1053-1058.
7. Berk, L.E., Why children talk to themselves. Scientific American, 1994: p. 61-65.
8. Vygotsky, L.S.V., Thought and language. 1962, Cambidge, Mass: MIT Press.
9. Alleman, A. and F. Laroi, Hallucinations: The science of idiosyncratic perceptions. 2008, Washington: American Psychological Association.
10. Bentall, R.P., Madness explained: Psychosis and human nature. 2003, London: Penguin.
11. Read, J., et al., Sexual and physical abuse during childhood and adulthood as predictors of hallucinations, delusions and thought disorder. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 2003. 76: p. 1-22.
12. Hammersley, P., et al., Childhood trauma and hallucinations in bipolar affective disorder: A preliminary investigation. British Journal of Psychiatry, 2003. 182: p. 543-547.
13. Shevlin, M., M. Dorahy, and G. Adamson, Childhood traumas and hallucinations: An analysis of the National Comorbidity Survey. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 2007. 41: p. 222-228.



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Signed by 155 people from 20 countries, listed in order of the time they were received.

Dr. Sandra Escher, - Board member of INTERVOICE, The Netherlands
Professor Marius Romme, psychiatrist, MD, PhD, President of INTERVOICE, The Netherlands
Dirk Corstens, Social psychiatrist and psychotherapist, Chair of INTERVOICE, The Netherlands
Paul Baker, coordinator of INTERVOICE, Spain
Jacqui Dillon, consultant trainer and voice hearer, chair of Hearing Voices Network England, board member of INTERVOICE, UK
Ron Coleman, consultant trainer and voice hearer, board member of INTERVOICE, UK
Hywel Davies, chair of Hearing Voices Network Cymru (Wales), honorary board member of INTERVOICE; UK
Amanda R. E. Aller Lowe, MS, LPC, LCPC, QMRP - Agency Partner, Communities In Schools & Area Representative, The Center for Cultural Interchange, Aurora, Illinois, INTERVOICE supporter, USA
Adrienne Giacon, Secretary and Hearing Voices Network Support group facilitator Hearing Voices Network Aotearoa, INTERVOICE member, New Zealand
Dr John Read, Associate Professor, Psychology Department, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Ann-Louise S. Silver, MD, founder and past president, International Society for the Psychological Treatments of Schizophrenia and Other Psychoses (www.isps-us.org), ISPS-US, USA
Matthew Morrissey, MA, MFT, Board Member, MindFreedom International, Northern California Coordiator, ISPS-US, San Franciso, USA
Irene van de Giessen, former voice hearer and foster-daughter of Willem van Staalen and Willem van Staalen, voice integrating foster-father of Irene, The Netherlands
Olga Runciman, consultant trainer and voice hearer (BSc psychiatric nurse and graduate student in psychology), INTERVOICE member, Denmark
Professor Wilma Boevink, Chair of Stichting Weerklank (Netherlands Hearing Voices Network), Professor of Recovery, Hanze University; Trimbos-Institute (the Dutch Institute of Mental Health and Addiction), Netherlands
Marian B. Goldstein, voicehearer, (fully recovered thanks to trauma-focussed therapy, the opportunity to make sense of the voices) INTERVOICE supporter, Denmark
Professor Dr J. van Os, Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, INTERVOICE supporter, Netherlands
Virginia Pulker, Mental health Occupational Therapist with young people with psychosis, recovery promoter, HVN Australia, Northern Ireland and England. INTERVOICE supporter, UK/Australia
Professor Richard Bentall, PhD, Chair Clinical Psychology, University of Bangor, INTERVOICE supporter, Wales, UK
Alessandra Santoni, professional working in a Mental Health Service of Milan, voice hearer and facilitator of a hearing voices group, INTERVOICE supporter,Italy
Geraldo Peixoto and Dulce Edie Pedro dos Santos, São Vicente - Est. São Paulo - INTERVOICE supporter, Brasil
Joanna & Andrzej Skulski, INTERVOICE supporters, Polska
Darby Penney, INTERVOICE supporter and President, The Community Consortium, Inc., Albany, NY, USA
Jacqueline Hayes, researcher at Manchester University about hearing voices in 'non-patients' and therapist, UK
Phil Virden, MA, MA, Executive Editor, Asylum Magazine, UK
Matthew Morris, Mental Health Locality Manager, East Suffolk Outreach Team, Suffolk Mental Health Partnerships NHS Trust, INTERVOICE supporter, UK
Ros Thomas, Young Peoples Worker, Gateway Community Heath, Wodonga Victoria, INTERVOICE supporter, Australia
Dr. Rufus May Dclin/ Consultant Clinical Psychologist, INTERVOICE supporter, UK
Dr. Simon Jones, INTERVOICE supporter, UK
Dr. Louis Tinnin, Psychiatrist, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
Linda Gantt, PhD, Intensive Trauma Therapy, Inc., USA
Burton Norman Seitler, Ph.D., New Jersey Institute for training in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, Child and Adolescence Psychotherapy Studies
Ron Bassman, PhD., Founding member of International Network Towards Alternatives for Recovery (INTAR), Past president of The National Association for Rights Protection and Advocacy, USA
Michael O'Loughlin, Adelphi University, NY, USA
Dorothy Scotten, Ph.D., LCSW, USA
Marilyn Charles, Ph.D., The Austen Riggs Center, USA
Bex Shaw, Psychotherapist, London, UK
Ira Steinman, MD, author of “TREATING the 'UNTREATABLE' : Healing in the Realms of Madness”, USA
Mike Lawson, Ex Vice Chair National MIND UK 1988-1992, INTERVOICE supporter, UK
Dr. Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D., B.C.S.A., International Center for Humane Psychiatry, USA
Ron Unger LCSW, Therapist, USA
Daniel B Fisher (Boston, MA): Person who recovered from what is called schizophrenia, Executive Director National Empowerment Center; National Coalition of Mental Health Consumer/survivor Org., member of Interrelate an international coalition of national consumer/user groups, community psychiatrist, Cambridge, Mass., USA
Mary Madrigal, USA
Paul Hammersley, University of Manchester, INTERVOICE supporter, UK
Phil Benjamin, mental health nurse and voices consultant, Australia
Eleanor Longden, Bradford Early Intervention in Psychosis Sevice, England, UK
Karen Taylor RMN, director Working to Recovery, Scotland, UK
Bill George, MA, PGCE, Member of the Anoiksis Think Tank, Netherlands
Dr Andrew Moskowitz, Senior Lecturer in Mental Health, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
John Exell, BA(Hons), Dip Arch, voice-hearer, sculptor, artist, writer, poet, UK.
Tineke Nabben, a voice hearer who has learned to cope with her voices and student, learning to help other children and parents to cope with their voices. Germany
Marcello Macario, psychiatrist, Community Mental Health Centre of Carcare, Italy, INTERVOICE supporter, Italy
Ian Parker, Professor of Psychology, co-director of the Discourse Unit, Manchester Metropolitan University, England, UK
David Harper, PhD, Reader in Clinical Psychology, School of Psychology, University of East London, England, UK
Wakio Sato, representative of the Hearing Voices Network - Japan. President of the Japanese Association of Clinical Psychology. The representative of an NPO named "Linden" for community mental health in Konko town, Okayama prefecture, Japan
Suzette van IJssel, Ph.D., spiritual counsel and voice hearer, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Jeannette Woolthuis, psycho-social therapist working with children hearing voices, The Netherlands
Dr. Louise Trygstad, Professor Emerita, University of San Francisco School of Nursing, USA
Erik Olsen, Board member ENUSP European Network of Users (x)-users and Survivors of Psychiatry and Executive Committee in European Dsability Forum (EDF)
Astrid Zoetbrood, recovered from psychosis and voices, the Netherlands
Christine Brown, RMN, Hearing Voices Network Scotland, INTERVOICE supporter, UK
Rachel Waddingham,Manager of the London Hearing Voices Project (inc. Voice Collective: Young People's Hearing Voices Project), trainer and voice-hearer, UK
Joel Waddingham, Husband and supporter of someone who hears voices, sees visions and has other unusual experiences, UK
Professor Robin Buccheri, RN, MHNP, DNSc, University of San Francisco, CA, USA
Jørn Eriksen, Board member of INTERVOICE, the Danish Hearing Voices Network and The International Mental Health Collaboration Network, Denmark
Douglas Holmes, voice hearer working in a Mental Health Service in Darlinghurst, Sydney, and facilitator of a hearing voices group, INTERVOICE supporter, Australia
Matthew Winter, Student Mental Health Nurse and INTERVOICE supporter
Anneli Westling, Relative of a voice hearer from Stockholm, Sweden
Lia Govers, recovered voice hearer, Italy
Molly Martyn, MA in Clinical Mental Health, Hearing Voices Network of Denver, USA
Tsuyoshi Matsuo, MD, INTERVOICE supporter, Japan
Janet M. Patterson RN, BSN, USA
Odette Nightsky, Sensitive Services International, Australia
Barbara Belton, M.S., M.S. trauma survivor who has recovered and former behavioral health professional, USA
Luigi Colaianni, PhD sociologist, researcher, Community Mental Health Centre, Milano, Italy
Teresa Keedwell, Voice Hearer Support Group, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Maria Haarmans, MA, Canadian Representative INTERVOICE, Canada
Ami Rohnitz, Voice hearer, Sweden
Sharon Jones, University of York, INTERVOICE Supporter, England, UK
Gail A. Hornstein, PhD, Professor of Psychology, Mount Holyoke College, USA
Siri Blesvik, INTERVOICE supporter, Norway
Lynn Seaton, mental health nurse, Scottish Hearing Voices Network and INTERVOICE supporter, UK
Rozi Pattison, Clinical Psychologist, CAMHS, Kapiti Health Centre, PARAPARAUMU, New Zealand
Suzanne Engelen, Experience Focussed Counselling Institute (efc) and member of INTERVOICE. She is an expert by experience and also works for Weerklank (Dutch Hearing Voices Network) and the TREE project, The Netherlands
Susie Crooks, Voice hearer, Mad & Proud, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
Lloyd Ross, Ph.D., FACAPP., P.A., New Jersey, USA
Catherine Penney, RN, USA
Nancy Burke, PhD, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis, USA
Nels Kurt Langsten, M.D., USA
Michael S. Garfinkle, PhD, New York, USA
Andy Phee RMN, community mental health nurse,Kings Cross,London,facilitated a hearing voices group for 10 years, member of the London HearingVoices Project advisory group. England, UK
Helen Sheppard, AMHP, West Yorkshire, Engalnd, UK.
Dr Gillian Proctor, Clincial Psychologist. Bradford, UK
Jane Forrest, sister of voice hearer, Sweden
Tami Williams, Ph.D., Licensed School Psychologist, Clinical Psychologist, Psychiatric Survivor, USA
Lone Jeppesen, Works as a social teacher in an institution with a lot of voice hearers and the diagnosis of schizophrenia, INTERVOICE supporter, Denmark
Judith Haire, author and voice hearer, Ramsgate, Kent, England, UK
Peter Lehmann, Peter Lehmann Publishing, Berlin, Germany / Eugene, OR / Shrewsbury, UK
Sigari Luckwell, Senior Clinical Psychologist, Bunbury Clinic, INTERVOICE supporter, Western Australia
Will Hall, voice hearer with schizophrenia diagnosis, founder of Portland hearing voices, host of madnessradio.net, USA
Richard Gray, specialist mental health support worker, random hearer/ seer of voices, visions and past lives. HVN NZ treasurer. New Zealand
Jacqueline Roy, Department of English, Manchester Metropolitan University, England, UK
Dr Mike Jackson, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Betsi Cadwaldr University Health Board, North Wales
Frank Blankenship, Chair of Affiliate Support Committee, MindFreedom International, MindFreedom Florida Gainesville, Florida USA
Dorothy Dundas, psychatric survivor, MA, USA
Sigrun Tømmerås, mental health acitvist/ childhood abuse survivor, Norway
Karyn Baker BSW, MSW, RSW, Executive Director, Family Outreach and Response Program, Toronto, Canada
Monika Hoffmann psychologist and co-founders of the "NeSt", the German Hearing Voices Network, Germany
Paul Beelen connected to the INTERVOICE network and voice hearer, The Netherlands
Rossa Forbes Holistic Schizophrenia, North America
Teresa Keedwell Voice Hearer Support Group, Palmerston North New Zealand
Yutaka Fujimoto Psychologist, Tokyo Metropolitan Govemment Mental Health and Welfare Cente, vice president of the Japanese Association of Clinical Psychology, member of the Hearing Voices Network Japan. Tokyo, Japan
Cheontell Barnes High support mental health worker and voices group co-facilitator Brighton UK
Yutaka Fujimoto Psychologist, Tokyo Metropolitan Govemment Mental Health and Welfare Cente, vice president of the Japanese Association of Clinical Psychology, member of the Hearing Voices Network Japan. Tokyo, Japan
Pino Pini, Psychiatrist, Mental Health Europe, INTERVOICE supporter, Italy
Ivona Amleh Psychiatrist, Bethlehem Psychiatric Hospital, Palestine
John Robinson, Integrative Therapist (and voice hearer) for the Hearing Voices Project, SE London
Yann Derobert Psychotherapist, France
Indigo Daya , Voices Vic Project Manager, Melbourne, Australia
Stephen McGowan , Early Intervention in Psychosis Lead. Yorkshire and the Humber Improvement Programme, UK
Adam James Editor and award winning journalist, psychminded.co.uk, UK
Tori Reeve, counsellor, member of HVN, Intervoice supporter, UK.
A. C. Sterk MA Ppsychologist and psychotherapist, director of the Ann Lee Centre community mental health project, and person with previous experience of psychosis. Manchester, UK.
Geoff Brennan Nurse Consultant Psychosocial Interventions for Acute Inpatient Care, Berkshire healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Co-editor Serious Mental Illness a manual for clinical practice”, UK
Lyn Mahboub voice hearer, trainer, consultant, mother, daughter, student, teacher and, also, one who has navigated the psychiatric service system, Australia
Kristin Hedden, Ph.D. VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Tacoma, Washington, USA 126
Agna Bartels MSc , psychologist and researcher in the University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands.
Rita Brooks, BS in Human Services Recovery Consultant, writer and producer of DVD called: The Reality of Recovery, Covington, Kentucky, USA
Angel Moore David Romprey Oregon Warmline, Oregon, USA

Chuck Hughes Corresponding Secretary Los Angeles County Clients Coalition, USA
Amy Sanderson, Bradford Early Intervention in Psychosis Team, UK
Pam Pinder parent of voice hearer, Plymouth, Devon, UK
Gerard van de Willige MSC psychologist and researcher, University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands
Mette Askov voice hearer with the diagnosis of schizoprenia and on the road to recovery, INTERVOICE supporter, Denmark
Claire Attwood , Voice hearer and mental health support worker, Isle of Wight. UK,
Alberto Diaz MSc Argentinian psychologist, PhD student in collective health at Universidade Estadual de Campinas, researching mental health, special interest schizophrenia, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
Barney Holmes, running a Level 1 Affiliate - MindFreedom, Lancaster, UK
Cindy Highsmith Myron psychiatric survivor, completely recovered from voice hearing and severe mental illness, mental health professional and life coach for persons with mental illness in a self-directed care program, INTERVOICE supporter, Florida, USA
Mad Hatters of Bath We are a group of people who have experienced mental extremes, including hearing voices and seeing visions. Bath, England, UK
Karin Daniels mother of a voice hearing daughter who suffered a lot, but who has now recovered. Maastricht, The Netherlands
Jim Probert, PhD Psychologist, Student Health Care Center, University of Florida, USA
Dr David Lee Clinical Psychologist, Dept of Psychological Therapies, Royal Bolton Hospital, Bolton, Supporter of INTERVOICE, UK
Professor Sue Cowan, Registered Mental Health Nurse and Chartered Health Psychologist, University of Abertay Dundee, Scotland, UK
Paul Harris psychotherapist and support worker based in the UK
Marina Beteva voices hearer for 8-9 years, on medication treatment, Moscow, Russia
Monica Cassani North Carolina, USA
Rikke Bitsch Denmark
Afaf Swaity Nursing Director of Bethlehem Psychiatric Hospital, Palestine
Mary Maddocks MindFreedom Ireland, Ireland
Tania Linden North Lincolnshire Early Intervention Service, UK
Rosemaree Ashford honours psychology student, recovery worker, Richmond Fellowship of WA, Australia
Gemma Hendry Trainee Clinical Psychologist with a specialist interest in Community Psychology and Voice hearing, UK
Erica van den Akker Social worker in Forensic Psychiatry, The Netherlands
Caroline von Taysen psychologist, Netzwerk Stimmenhören, Germany and Normal Difference, Mental Health Kariobangi in Kenya, Germany
Poppy Rollinson Mental Health Nurse, Brighton, UK
Vanessa Jackson Vanessa Jackson Healing Circles, Inc. , USA
Dr. Julie Arthur Kirby Supporter of INTERVOICE and Senior Lecturer, UK
Peter Bullimore Expert by experience, Asylum Associates, UK
Paul Cheminais voice hearer, Bournemouth, UK 159