Psychosis as a Personal Crisis

Psychosis as a Personal Crisis seeks to challenge the way people who hear voices are both viewed and treated. This book emphasises the individual variation between people who suffer from psychosis and puts forward the idea that hearing voices is not in itself a sign of mental illness. In this book the editors bring together an international range of expert contributors, who in their daily work, their research or their personal acquaintance, focus on the personal experience of psychosis. Further topics of discussion include: - accepting and making sense of hearing voices - the relation between trauma and paranoia - the limitations of contemporary psychiatry - the process of recovery. This book will be essential reading for all mental health professionals, in particular those wanting to learn more about the development of the hearing voices movement and applying these ideas to better understanding those in the voice hearing community.

Marius Romme is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Maastricht, the Netherlands. He is Visiting Professor at Birmingham City University, UK, and Founder and Chair of Intervoice the International Association for Voice Hearers, which has networks and support groups around the world. Sandra Escher is a former journalist and senior staff member at the Community Mental Health Centre in Maastricht, the Netherlands. She is an honorary research fellow at Birmingham City University, UK, and Co Founder of Intervoice the International Association for Voice Hearers.

Chávez, Foreword. Romme, Escher, Psychosis as a Personal Crisis: Introduction. Part I: Changes in Attitude. Martindale, Psychiatry at the Cross Roads. Hoffman, Changing Attitudes in a Clinical Setting. Johnstone, Voice Hearers Are People with Problems; Not Patients with Illness. Coleman, Taylor, The Process of Recovery and the Implications for Working in Psychosis. Escher, Useful Instruments for Exploring Hearing Voices and Paranoia. Part II: Relationship with Trauma or Other Live Experiences. Larkin, Read, Childhood Trauma and Psychosis: Revisiting the Evidence. Bullimore, The Relation Between Trauma and Paranoia. Romme, Personal Links Between Trauma, Distorted Emotions and Hearing Voices. Part III: Recovery Oriented Approaches. Escher, Hearing Voices in Children: The Message of the Voices. Seikkula, Alakare, Open Dialogue with Psychotic Patients and Their Families. Dillon, Longden, Hearing Voices Groups: Creating Safe Spaces to Share Taboo Experiences. May, Relating to Alternative Realities. Romme, Escher, Accepting and Making Sense of Hearing Voices. Corstens, May, Longden, Talking Directly with Voices. Kingdom, Cognitive Psychological Intervention: Understanding Psychosis and Cognitive Therapy. Garfield, Iagura, A Psychoanalytic Framework for Psychotic Experiences. Watkins, Using Medication Wisely in Treating Psychosis.