Hearing Voices: A Social Constructionist
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Transcript Hearing Voices: A Social Constructionist
15TH June 2012
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POWER
PERSPECTIVES
PERCEPTION
MSc
Mental Health Leeds Metropolitan
University 2011(Supervisor : B.Penson)
BSc (Hons) Social Science (Sociology and
Social Psychology) University of Bradford
1996
Care Coordinator at aspire, Leeds Early
Intervention in psychosis service (3 years)
Previous diagnosis of psychosis
Ex-voice hearer
Honesty,
openness, straightforwardness,
clarity, individuality, respect, equality,
equilibrium
Voice hearing as normal and everyday
Voice hearing as amazing, serving a purpose,
not necessarily terrifying
White British, female, middle class
upbringing, late 30’s, single, no dependants
Sympathetic to psychiatry and psychology
Use of Critical Psychiatry and Critical
Psychology perspectives
Definitions
of voices/social constructionism
Use theory to explore how voices are
constructed in West
Discuss dominant discourses (psychiatry and
psychology)
Power, perceptions and perspectives
Ideas for practice
Research potential
Discussion
Voices,
sounds, music, noises
External or unknown source/mind of hearer
Psychiatry: auditory hallucination/symptom
Magical, terrifying, empowering, destructive,
wonderful, annoying, incredible, hateful,
personal
Continuum, normal, everyday experience
Beliefs
developed about the world, objects,
phenomena and people
That are not defined by nature (Berger and
Luckmann (1966, 1991)
“Nothing is real unless we agree that it is”
(Gergen and Gergen 2004)
Nature has no life of its own (Searle 1995)
Creates doubt and encourages reflection on
assumptions/beliefs and ideologies
Berger
and Luckmann : voice hearing as
unnatural phenomena. Voices use language:
language is socially constructed
Searle: everything socially constructed
Potential for both social constructionist
perspectives to theorize voice hearing
Assumption that voice hearing is socially
constructed in society
“Man is biologically predestined to construct
and inhabit a world with others. This world
becomes for him the dominant and definite
reality. Its limits are set by nature, but, once
constructed this world acts back upon nature.
In the dialectic between nature and the
socially constructed world the human organism
is itself transformed. In this same dialectic
man produces reality and thereby produces
himself.”
Object
becomes apparent with different
discourses around it
No ultimate truth
Communication with others, and voices
Omnipotence: why?
Construct clashes: with whom?
Psychiatry
Psychology
Media
Government
(MHA)
Religion/spiritual
Dominant social constructions
Multiple perspectives necessary: choice
Voices
as inner commentator to alert us to
problems
Voices not problem
Coping research
Construct/Formulation
Writing
at a similar time to Berger and
Luckmann
French philosopher/historian/sociologist
Geneological approach
Post-structuralist school (not soc construct)
Looks at “madness” (not voices specifically)
Looks at notions of “truth” and “power”
Political/moral/cultural/time/space/place
“If illusion can appear as true as perception,
perception in its turn can become the visible,
unchallengeable truth of illusion.” (Foucault)
Imagination, perception and reality?
Voice hearer is subject where truth is sought
and power overlooks and operates upon
Ultimate truth out of reach
Historical
approach
Foucault and social constructionism
Means whereby truth constructed and
inconsequential whether factually correct
Foucault as empiricist – flawed?
Medicine as dominant perspective
Law as overarching controlling body
(Government)
Medical
Psychological
Social
Spiritual
Other
Us
and them
Language
Medication
Treatments in history
Concept of mental illness/diagnosis
Suppression of symptoms
Continnuum perspective
Many truths and realities around voices
Problem
in psychology of individual and
result of life events?
Therapy
as a means of social control?
Definitions
of “normality” and acceptability
Voice
hearing as a disability?
Adaption to society (medication)
Society adapting to voices hearing
experience? (acceptance)
Anti-stigma campaigns
Accepting
Understanding
Normalising
Talking about voices
CBT approach/Romme and Escher Maastricht
Interview
Hearing Voices groups via HVN
Providing choice about how to make sense
(perspectives)
Allowing people to reach own conclusions about
voices
Helping people cope with voices (strategies)
Are
relationships that people have with their
voices similar to the relationships that
people have with people they know?
What is the relationship between voices and
self esteem/low mood?
Why are voices omnipotent?
Voice hearing is
constructed socially,
within and without a
complex set of power
dynamics, diversely,
across time, culture
and space.
Many
ways of constructing voices within
society currently
Psychiatry holds dominant discourse
Continuum perhaps more valuable discourse
Acceptance and non-stigmatising
Campaigns and research
Social constructionism as refuting itself
You
meet someone who tells you they hear
voices
What would you say/do/ask in order to show
ACCEPTANCE
UNDERSTANDING
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
VALIDATION
Berger
and Luckmann “ The Social
Construction of reality”
McManus (unpublished) MSC Dissertation
Foucault
INTERVOICE website/ HVN website
Romme and Escher
Ron Coleman