Hearing voices that other people don’t hear is just one possible response to traumatic or adverse life experiences, but it is one that can leave supporters feeling out of their depth. Once seen as the epitome of madness, it is now understood that voices are a meaningful experience that can often reflect the struggles which provoked or shaped them.
Listening to, and learning from, the voices young people hear
Rai Waddingham, from Hearing Voices Network, is the latest in an exciting line-up of keynote speakers for the BASPCAN 2018 child protection congress.
In her talk, Rai will explore the experience of hearing voices and their relationship to traumatic life experiences. She will cover some of the different kinds of voices heard by young people who have experienced trauma and/or child protection processes – including: taboo and violent voices; voices that provide comfort and security; voices that echo feelings of fear, loss or guilt. Importantly, she will suggest some of the things adults can do to help young people feel safer and more empowered within these experiences. Rai will draw on her own personal experience as a survivor of trauma and voice-hearer, as well as her professional experience of supporting young people through the Voice Collective young person’s hearing voices project.
Rai Waddingham
Rai Waddingham is an experienced international trainer who specialises in innovative ways of supporting people who struggle with extreme states (including ‘psychosis’, ‘dissociation’ and complex post-traumatic reactions). Rai has particular expertise in working with children, young people and people in prison who hear voices. In 2010, Rai launched a project developing a network of Hearing Voices peer support groups in London’s prisons, building on her work developing groups for adults and young people in the community. She now works as an honorary Open Dialogue practitioner in Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust’s Open Dialogue Service.
Rai is a trustee of the English Hearing Voices Network, Intervoice and Vice Chair of ISPS UK (International Society for Psychological and Social Approaches to Psychosis). She is also a member of ISPS’s International Executive Committee. Rai has personal experience of hearing voices, psychosis and dissociation. She uses her own experiences and the principles of the Hearing Voices Movement to inform her work.
To find out about our other inspiring keynote speakers, take a look at our congress webpage: