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About The Project
What Is Voice Collective?
Voice Collective is a London-wide project set up to support children and young people who hear voices, see visions or have other unusual sensory experiences. We work in partnership with young people and youth organisations to improve the quality of information, advice and support available out there.
This three year development project was launched in April 2011, following a successful two year pilot. It's part of Mind in Camden's London Hearing Voices Project, which has been training and supporting people to set up peer support groups for over 18s since 2005.
To find out more, contact: info@voicecollective.co.uk or 020 7625 9042
What do we offer?
There are two strands to our service - work with children, young people & families, and work with professionals and organisations.
All of our services are FREE within the Greater London area.
Download:
Our Menu: An Overview of Voice Collective's Services
Work with children, young people & families
Children & Young People
- Voice Collective peer support groups (for 12-18 year olds)
- Creative Arts Workshops
- Information, signposting & support (by email, phone or face to face)
- Online peer support forum
- Training and workshops (including PSHE lessons and group facilitation training)
Download:
Self Referral Form for Under 16s
Self Referral Form for 16-18 year olds
Parents, families and carers
- Peer support workshops
- Information, signposting & support (by email, phone or face to face)
- Online peer support forum
- Training and workshops
Work with professionals and organisations
- Awareness talks
- Individual and group coaching
- Specialist training
- Guidance and support developing information resources, policies and practice to include and support young people who hear voices
We work with: CAMHS, Early Intervention in Psychosis, Schools, Social Services, Voluntary Sector Organisations & Charities, Arts Groups and many more.
Why is it needed?
“Without the group I would be isolated. I used to think I was the only person this is happening to, that I was freakish or wrong. It helped me realise that there are other people. It normalised it and made it less inhuman” - 16 year old
Around 8% of young people hear, see or sense things other people don't. Still, movies and news reports can make it all sound much more weird and scary than it really is. The fear of being judged or labelled can be really hard to deal with, at school and at home. Because of this, meeting people who understand what you're doing through and listen with respect is very important.
During our pilot project, we found that children and young people often felt isolated, 'crazy' and overwhelmed - but struggled to access supportive services. Our peer support group, facilitated by someone with personal experience of living with voices, gave these young people a safe space to be accepted for who they are.
“My daughter has been attending lots of places since the age of eight and nothing has helped, until she meet the people involved at Voice Collective. This has had a remarkable effect on her wellbeing and confidence, she no longer feel isolated. The people that run the project are real role models to these young people. She is now able to open up to me and some of her closest friends. We, in turn, can help her through these difficult times, which just was not possible before”
- Parent
Through working with a range of youth services, we found that relatively little support from us (in the form of training, coaching or awareness raising) can produce dramatic results. We specialise in breaking down the stigma and anxiety surrounding voice-hearing, helping workers use their existing skills to support young people.
“I work with young people from unsafe family backgrounds. I now feel more confident to work with young people who hear voices, to try and open a dialogue and help them feel less isolated and more understood”
With CAMHS teams and agencies already working with young people who hear voices, we found that offering training led by someone with personal and professional experience, is key. Feedback from trainees is that this has helped them develop greater understanding of the experience and increase the range of tools they have to work creatively with young people.
"Everyone really enjoyed the presentation which was so well thought out, so professional, very impressive and fascinating. Your personal contribution really enriched the content and was very generous of you, and humbling for us. Thank you”. - Wendy, CAMHS
"I'm amazed with the way the trainer users her experience to help people make sense of 'hearing voices'. I don't think it would have the same impact if delivered by someone who had not gone on her journey to where she is today. 100% brill”
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