churches, child and adolescent mental health services, prisons, and inpatient units. Groups are designed to function as peer support groups meant foster socialization and belonging, not therapy and treatment. Members are encouraged to talk about their experiences, to learn what the voices mean to them, and how to gain control over their experiences. Should members desire to, groups can help members explore the relationship between their life history and their experience of hearing voices. Studies show that members found attending hearing voices groups a largely positive experience, being able to share their experiences and explore and experiment with different coping strategies. Members also said that attending improved their self esteem, helped them make friends, and allowed them to feel more prepared for the future. Studies have found that after attending hearing voices groups, members' hospital bed use decreased and there was a trend for less formal admissions. People's relationships with the voices were mostly improved and heard the voices less frequently. The voices were perceived as less powerful and having less control over them, and participants reported feeling better able to cope the voices and less alone. Importantly, evaluations showed that members improved in what they had identified as their own goals for the group. National networks have developed considerably over the years and host websites, publish newsletters, guides to the voice hearing experience, and workbooks where individuals can record and explore their own experiences with voice hearing. Romme has provided an intellectual basis for these groups in the book Accepting Voices, where he advocates a view that the hearing of voices is not necessarily an indication of mental illness and that patients should be encouraged to explore their voices and negotiate with them. See also Hearing Voices Movement Paranoia Network Publications Articles, Chapters and Pamphlets [Challenging the omnipotence of voices: a cognitive approach to auditory hallucinations Pdf.] Also Pdf. Haddock G Slade P. Empowering people who hear voices in cognitive behavioral interventions with psychotic disorders, Routledge, London (1996) Pdf. Available online. Pdf. Preview. Described in: See also: and: Read online. References External links INTERVOICE World Map of Hearing Voices Groups Hearing Voices Network England Schizophrenia-related organizations Mental health support groups Organisations based in Manchester Mental health organisations in the United Kingdom