BCHVN Study Club Research, Uncategorized

ECT Survey

Researchers from the University of East London are seeking individuals who have, or are close to those who have, received electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), you’re invited to take part of this international survey!

Dr. John Read, from the University of East London, is collaborating with psychologists and people who’ve had ECT themselves,to run this study. Here’s a short video interview from Dr. Read’s work.

This is your opportunity to share your experiences of this treatment, positive, negative or mixed. The survey takes about 20 minutes.

If questions about ECT or about the experiences that led you to having ECT might be distressing for you, please seriously consider not taking the survey.

If you have any general enquires about the study, please contact the lead researcher, Professor John Read: john@uel.ac.uk

The study has been approved by the University of East London Ethics and Integrity Sub-committee

You can access the survey here!

BC Hearing Voices Network Research

Survey on transformative life experiences

A researcher with the Alef Trust/Liverpool John Moores University is seeking participants in a study on transformative life experiences, which are defined as “one which has strong meaning for you, and has resulted in significant change in your beliefs, values, lifestyle, and/or worldview.” Examples of transformative life experiences could include “the birth of a baby, or the loss of a loved one, sensing divinity while enjoying a sunset, a paranormal encounter, a spiritual awakening, or perhaps a psychedelic exploration into altered states of consciousness.” The researcher, Elizabeth Halliday, is a Master’s student in Consciousness, Spirituality, and Transpersonal Psychology with the Alef Trust/Liverpool John Moores University and a volunteer with the Spiritual Crisis Network UK.

The survey involves answering questions about practices you did or did not use to integrate your transformative life experience, and is expected to take about 20-25 minutes.

You can participate or learn more here. If you have questions about this project, please contact Elizabeth Halliday at e.c.halliday@2021.ljmu.ac.uk or Francesca Hector at francesca.hector@aleftrust.org.

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BC Hearing Voices Network Research

UK Study looking for voice hearers to validate a new questionnaire

Researchers in the UK have developed a new questionnaire to assess the types of relationships people have with the voices they hear. They are looking for people who hear voices who are interested in filling out the questionnaire online, which will help the researchers to understand whether the questionnaire is valid (whether it measures what it’s supposed to). Here is a statement from one of the researchers:

My name is Dani Chadderton, I’m a researcher and trainee clinical psychologist at Lancaster University, UK. I’ve been working with Prof. Bill Sellwood and Dr. Rohan Morris to develop a new outcome measure/questionnaire, which will assess the types of relationships people have with the different voices they hear. The idea is that it will help support the development and evaluation of new psychological therapies, specifically looking at improving people’s relationships with their voices, and hopefully reducing distress. 

We have developed the questionnaire with the input of people who hear voices at every stage of the process. We are now looking for voice hearers to complete the questionnaire so we can check if it is statistically valid.

You can complete the questionnaire or learn more about the project here. If you have any questions, please contact Danielle Chadderton: D.chadderton@lancaster.ac.uk

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BC Hearing Voices Network Research

Online study: Self-esteem in psychosis

Researchers at the University of Toronto are investigating what contributes to low self-esteem for people diagnosed with psychosis (and what can improve it), and are looking for research participants for an online study. The study will involve one 1.5 hour session over Zoom, where you will be interviewed, answer questionnaires, and do tasks on the computer. If you think you might be interested in participating, keep reading to learn more.

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A flyer advertising the study. The information on the flyer is summarized below.
Continue reading “Online study: Self-esteem in psychosis” →
BC Hearing Voices Network Research

Participants wanted: Study on facilitating Hearing Voices groups

A study at the University of Manchester is trying to understand more about how online support groups for people who hear voices compare to in-person support groups. If you have experience facilitating groups for people who hear voices, either in-person or online, you are invited to participate. For more information, please see the poster below or contact Alison Branitsky at alison.branitsky@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk.

recruitment-poster-v4-15mar2022Download
BC Hearing Voices Network Uncategorized

Research participants wanted for study on reducing distress related to voices

Researchers at the University of Toronto are recruiting participants for an online study focused on methods to help reduce the distress some people experience when they hear voices. If you’re interested in participating, or for more information, please contact Talia Leibovitz at t.leibovitz@mail.utoronto.ca or 647-689-6098 Ext. 103. Please see the flyer below (or click to download the .pdf version).

recruitment-handoutDownload
BC Hearing Voices Network Uncategorized

Yale COPE Project

Yale University is conducting a study to understand perceptual experiences like hearing voices, seeing visions, or smelling, tasting, or feeling things that other people don’t, and what makes some people more able to control their experiences. They are currently looking for participants to complete a series of online surveys. You can find out more about the project by visiting the COPE Project website, or reading the FAQ page. From the COPE Project website:

People everywhere have experiences like hearing voices and seeing things other people don’t. Sometimes, these are part of mental illness. Often, however, they occur in healthy individuals. There are usually a few differences between the experiences of people who seek psychiatric care and people who don’t. One difference is the ability to regain empowerment in the distressing life experiences that aren’t working for them–specifically with perceptual experiences. For example, many people say they can schedule times for when their voices (whether they consider them voices, aspects, guides, spirits, etc.) can talk to them. 

Influence over our experiences is complex. It involves neurological, psychological, and social factors. Today, there is no way to measure the ability to influence perceptual experiences. 

We have made the first tool to study these experiences. It will help us design new treatments for individuals to gain empowerment in voice-hearing and other perceptual experiences. But we need your help! 

Participants can be people with experiences of seeing, hearing, or feeling things others might not be who have influence (or control) or people who do not have influence (or control) over these experiences.

Behind the COPE Project is a team of individuals from all different communities–neuroscientists, therapists, mental health professionals, mental health advocates, individuals with lived experiences, and individuals who view their experiences as spiritually oriented. Our group is called the SPIRIT Alliance (SPIRIT meaning the multitude of characteristics that make up an individual). 

Our goal: to understand clinically the extraordinary experiences of real people. 

Share your experiences with us! Understanding how you can influence your perceptual experiences can help those who can’t do it themselves. This can inform new treatments for people who struggle with distressing experiences.

Our goals are:

• To learn from those who hear, see, and feel things others can’t/don’t
• To understand the ways people can control these experiences and their lives
• To create new treatments for those who need them.

Participation:

•  Is online, from the comfort of your own home. 
•  Is paid.
•  Involves taking surveys, playing games, and sharing your story.

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