With the help of the University of Liège, the Liège-based support group was set up under the aegis of the not-for-profit association Psy'Cause and ULg’s Psychology and Speech Therapy Clinic.

ʺThe origin of the voices is never discussed within the support groups, because this discussion would serve no purposeʺ, says Jonathan Burnay, who is one of the ʺfacilitatorsʺ of the Liège group. He adds: ʺIt doesn’t matter if the subject attributes the voices they hear to God, elves, the devil or the deceased! The ultimate goal is to help these hearers to manage them so that they leave them alone when their presence is undesirable. For instance, when they’re concentrating on work or they’re with the family.ʺ

Neither marginalisation nor discrimination

In these groups, the possible pathological aspect is erased and, similar to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, everyone shares their experiences with everyone else, explaining their helplessness or their progress and the strategies they use to take control of ʺtheirʺ voices. As underlined by Élodie Azarian, facilitator at one of the two groups in Brussels, these aren’t therapy groups, but self-help groups. In fact, there is no mention of auditory hallucinations but of hearing voices. ʺHaving got rid of their label of someone suffering from an illness, the members of the group have better self-esteem, and regain their dignity and hopeʺ, she confirms.

In Belgium, these groups work horizontally; the facilitator is only there to ensure the meetings run smoothly. The example of those who have succeeded in controlling their voices opens the way for the other participants, who find motivation and comfort, and renewed self-esteem. An essential element in these groups is that the voice hearers aren’t subject to marginalisation or discrimination. ʺIn society, the weight of the stereotypes and prejudices weighing them down is enormousʺ, Jonathan Burnay tells us. ʺIn some families, they’re not even allowed to look after the children.ʺ

According to Frank Larøi, some voice hearers have never told anyone about their problem before joining a support group. They want to protect themselves. ʺIt’s absolutely necessary to create an atmosphere of trust, because some psychiatric patients are even afraid that if anyone finds out they’re coming to a support group, the dose of the antipsychotics they’re prescribed by their psychiatrist may be increasedʺ, the psychologist adds.

The attitude of psychiatrists and other mental health professionals towards hearing voices support groups ranges from confirmed interest, to hostility, to scepticism. It is true that for the time being, although several studies have been carried out (and a meta-analysis has been published on these studies (5)), the results and methodologies of these studies vary enormously and therefore, at present, no clear and substantial scientific evidence proving the method’s efficacy is available. That is why the support group in Liège is partly conceived as a pilot study.

(5) Anna Ruddle, Olivier Masson, Til Wykes, A review of hearing voices groups: Evidence and mechanisms of change, Clinical Psychology Review 31 (2011) 757-766.