Hearing Voices - Working Holistically with Voices, Psychosis and Psycho-Spiritual Crises

LIVE ONLINE WORKSHOP

Capability Level: Emerging, Evolving & Established

Medical treatment for psychotic disorders focuses on stabilising symptoms with medication but in doing so it can minimize or even invalidate the person’s trauma history, personal meaning and spiritual aspects of the experience, thus exacerbating internalized stigma, disempowerment and confusion for people.

Social workers are well placed to redress stigma and disempowerment by using trauma-informed and person-centered frameworks and interventions. One such framework is The Hearing Voices Approach which respects and privileges the voice-hearer’s beliefs and expertise, helps to make sense of voices, and provides hope for healing. This approach has a rich history in the grassroots, peer-led and worldwide Hearing Voices Movement, founded by psychiatrists Professor Marius Romme and Dr Sandra Escher in the 1980’s and flourishing today in many countries, including Australia.

Other frameworks that will be discussed are Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Compassion-Focused Therapy for psychosis, particularly useful for Social Workers who are providing mental health therapy for clients.

Using a trauma-informed approach which respects all belief systems, this webinar explores:

1.Different worldviews and explanations for voice-hearing and psychosis

2. An overview and comparison of the Hearing Voices Approach, CBT and Compassion-Focused Therapy for psychosis

3.Recovery strategies for people who hear voices and/or experience psychosis

Who should attend?

This training is suitable for emerging, evolving and established social workers, working in diverse roles such as 1:1 therapy work, hospital-based social work, support work, case management and program delivery.

The information will be accessible for emerging practitioners, yet at the same time providing established practitioners with strategies for therapy work and recovery pathways for clients. Knowledge of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy will be useful but not essential.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this program, participants will be able to:

• Identify a range of diverse worldviews and explanatory frameworks for voice-hearing and psychosis

• Understand how three treatment approaches can be applied to working with voice-hearers: Hearing Voices Approach, CBT for psychosis, and Compassion-Focused Therapy

• Identify appropriate recovery strategies for clients, depending on the client’s worldview

Event Structure:

Introduction

Learning Session 1: Identify a range of diverse worldviews and explanatory frameworks for voice-hearing and psychosis (20minutes)

Learning Activity 1: Interactive group discussion & Poll

Learning Session 2: Understand how three treatment approaches can be applied to working with voice-hearers: Hearing Voices Approach, CBT for psychosis, and Compassion-Focused Therapy (25 minutes)

Learning Activity 2: Interactive group discussion

Learning Session 3: Identify appropriate recovery strategies for clients, depending on the client’s worldview (25minutes)

Learning Activity 3: Open discussion and case study

Conclusion and Q&A

AASW Credential: Mental Health (FPS), Disability and Clinical SW

FPS: CBT will be incorporated into a section of this workshop.

Please consider the AASW CPD Policy regarding FPS when logging your FPS hours manually:

This Workshop is not recorded, however, you will have access to materials and resources on AASW Online Learning for 4 weeks after the completion of the workshop.