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Is anyone going to comment or do you think medication will fix everything?

[junkDNA]

hey, i will comment. i went to a hearing voices support group facilitators training with my T in 2013 in MAssachusetts. it was like 4 days of training about the hearing voices network which practices what rufus may talks about- developing a relationship with the voices and working with them to make the experience easier. no, i dont think medication solves everything!!! i resonate a lot with the model of this because i have many traumas in my past and sometimes the voices really reflect some of those experiences. i am kinda too scared to confront my negative aggressive voice..it seems scary to me. because he is so mean. i watched the clip on May's website and found it really interesting, bc it explained the process so well to me. ive been having a hard time imagining what doing all of this actually LOOKS like. so thank you for posting this BunYip.

Thanks for the link. It has some pretty useful stuff. I don't think meds are the only answer. All meds have ever done for me is numb my brain so I don't care about the voices and delusions that much. They're still there in the background. I've only tried group therapy but I didnt like it because there was too many people and I just found myself looking out the window daydreaming. I guess what I'm trying to say is I think a combination of meds and 1 to 1 therapy is probably the best solution for psychosis/schizophrenia.

Originally Posted by BunYip

Is anyone going to comment or do you think medication will fix everything?

PC is pretty pro-med in general.

I've gone to a local HV group a couple of times, and the people I've met there are so pro-med that my alternative coping strategies are met with derision and the assertion that they only work because my difficulties are very mild in comparison! I'm not sure whether I will continue going to be honest, as I have little to contribute to people who are so closed minded. Taking medication is a choice. I choose not to. If someone would rather drug their symptoms away, and if that actually works for them, that is their prerogative and all the best to them, but I've never found meds effective or helpful. So I choose to use alternative strategies and I made a pretty good life for myself.

Do you attend a HV group yourself? I've heard they are much better than my experience has been so far. Perhaps I should try a different HV group as there are a couple nearby...

*Willow*

[junkDNA]

Originally Posted by WeepingWillow23

PC is pretty pro-med in general.

I've gone to a local HV group a couple of times, and the people I've met there are so pro-med that my alternative coping strategies are met with derision and the assertion that they only work because my difficulties are very mild in comparison! I'm not sure whether I will continue going to be honest, as I have little to contribute to people who are so closed minded. Taking medication is a choice. I choose not to. If someone would rather drug their symptoms away, and if that actually works for them, that is their prerogative and all the best to them, but I've never found meds effective or helpful. So I choose to use alternative strategies and I made a pretty good life for myself.

Do you attend a HV group yourself? I've heard they are much better than my experience has been so far. Perhaps I should try a different HV group as there are a couple nearby...

*Willow*

that sounds pretty much like the opposite of what hearing voices groups are aimed to do... i find it that strange they are so pro-med. when i went to the training it was pretty radical...a little too radical in my opinion, as they bashed psychiatrists and PHDs most of the time, which i didnt think was that productive. i didnt really have a good experience there, but i did learn some about the group and how to facilitate one.

Originally Posted by junkDNA

that sounds pretty much like the opposite of what hearing voices groups are aimed to do... i find it that strange they are so pro-med. when i went to the training it was pretty radical...a little too radical in my opinion, as they bashed psychiatrists and PHDs most of the time, which i didnt think was that productive. i didnt really have a good experience there, but i did learn some about the group and how to facilitate one.

The facilitator doesn't have 'lived experience', but is a social worker interested in voice hearing/psychosis. He is quite open minded and pro-choice, as you would wish for. It is the others who attend the group who aren't interested in anything other than taking meds...which makes me wonder why they decided to attend a HV group in the first place?! I'm not sure I will go back to be honest, I was really disappointed with all 3 sessions...

*Willow*

Originally Posted by WeepingWillow23

PC is pretty pro-med in general.

I've gone to a local HV group a couple of times, and the people I've met there are so pro-med that my alternative coping strategies are met with derision and the assertion that they only work because my difficulties are very mild in comparison! I'm not sure whether I will continue going to be honest, as I have little to contribute to people who are so closed minded. Taking medication is a choice. I choose not to. If someone would rather drug their symptoms away, and if that actually works for them, that is their prerogative and all the best to them, but I've never found meds effective or helpful. So I choose to use alternative strategies and I made a pretty good life for myself.

Do you attend a HV group yourself? I've heard they are much better than my experience has been so far. Perhaps I should try a different HV group as there are a couple nearby...

*Willow*

Thats disappointing. Maybe it takes people a while to realise meds aren't something that is neccessary. No I dont go to a group as I don't know if there is one where I live and I only admitted to my T that I hear them last week He gave me the link

Originally Posted by junkDNA

that sounds pretty much like the opposite of what hearing voices groups are aimed to do... i find it that strange they are so pro-med. when i went to the training it was pretty radical...a little too radical in my opinion, as they bashed psychiatrists and PHDs most of the time, which i didnt think was that productive. i didnt really have a good experience there, but i did learn some about the group and how to facilitate one.

Why would they bash PHDs when their founder is a clinical psych? Sounds odd.

Originally Posted by BunYip

No I dont go to a group as I don't know if there is one where I live and I only admitted to my T that I hear them last week He gave me the link

To be fair, I've heard really good things about the groups, so it would be worth looking to see if there is one locally to you. It's just disappointing that the one I tried wasn't so helpful, but there are a couple of others that might possibly be near enough to me to try if I fancy another go.

Originally Posted by BunYip

Why would they bash PHDs when their founder is a clinical psych? Sounds odd.

Exactly! I have an issue when anyone tries to tell people what to do, whether it's to take meds, or to stop meds because they're 'evil'. Life is complicated and people should get to make their own decisions, so any support group that isn't pro-choice isn't for me. I guess you get bad apples within any organisation though, so overall I still think the HV network is worth people looking into.

*Willow*

[junkDNA]

Originally Posted by BunYip

Why would they bash PHDs when their founder is a clinical psych? Sounds odd.

it was odd, they were hell bent on demonizing drs. another T that went with my t and i is a PhD and they were mean to her