Hearing Voices Movement and Art Therapy

Abstract

The international Hearing Voices Movement (HVM) offers a service-user generated approach to those who hear voices that encourages them to pay attention to their voices and their significance. Art therapists have been working with people with psychosis-related diagnoses for decades but there is little written on integrating the HVM framework. Attention to three main phases of adjusting to life with voices—startling phase, organizational phase; and stabilization phase—offers opportunities for art therapists to refresh their collaborative approach potentially using simple mindfulness techniques, studio environments, dialoging with images, and advocacy.

Keywords:

• Hearing Voices Movement (HVM)
• psychosis
• lived-experience
• service-user perspectives
• art therapy