Yesterday, the staff of vocational rehab coaches throughout Israel in Bayit Cham’s Shacharit and Handyman programs gathered for a fascinating training session delivered by Dr. Renana Stenger Elran on psychotic episodes with a (relatively new) approach based on the Hearing Voices Network.
We are used to viewing as “other” or looking down on people with schizophrenia or other mental illnesses who actually hear voices, and are quick to dismiss them or relate to them as invisible, but at the training session we focused on understanding their very real experience of hearing voices coming from inside. We heard about the meaning it has for the person who hears them, why they are there and how it is possible to handle them in a way that will allow them to live in peace, understanding and mutual acceptance.
The Hearing Voices Network is actually a community of people who hear voices, who learn and help each other in group meetings, provide support through their awareness and personal experience to find strategies for dealing with the voices and their messages. The network has groups all over the United States and has already reached the rest of the world. Even in Israel there are already three groups. This is really good news for those who hear voices!! In the group, they finally don’t feel alone, strange or the only ones; there are others who understand them and are able to help them cope non-judgmentally, with true understanding.
Now our coaching staff undoubtedly also understand them more deeply and definitely warmly embrace the new concept.
Apart from that, we also took advantage of the meeting to thank and congratulate our wonderful staff with a video from the regional directors full of praise for their outstanding, devoted teams, a package of treats for the road, and lots of love and appreciation.
A big thank you Renana 🙏 A big thank you to our staff – champions all
