The new Hearing Voices Network of the Lower Hudson Valley Region (HVN-LHV) is a grassroots initiative working to introduce to our community self-led support groups for individuals who hear voices and have other unusual or extreme sensory perceptions, such as seeing visions. Hearing Voices challenges the stigma around such experiences by offering a supportive environment free from judgment or the assumption of illness.
Commissioner Mark S. Herceg, Ph.D.: “On behalf of the Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health and our community collaborators, I am pleased to co-sponsor an important effort as bringing the Hearing Voices Network to Westchester County and the Lower Hudson Valley Region. We know from those who have been involved in the Network of its profound effectiveness and ability to reach individuals in a unique and supportive way. That we will soon be able to offer this to our communities is very exciting and I hope that anyone interested in facilitating or joining these groups will avail themselves of this opportunity.”
Hearing Voices groups offer people who have had such experiences the opportunity to understand, learn, and grow from them together.The effectiveness of the Hearing Voices approach is well documented in the research literature, and growing numbers of peers and mental health providers on three continents are incorporating Hearing Voices principles into their work.
To learn more about the Hearing Voices approach, the following sites are recommended: www.hearingvoicesusa.org, www.intervoice.com and www.hearing-voices.org.
A training for those interested in becoming a Hearing Voice group facilitator will be held on March 17 and 18, 2015. To apply, complete the following http://bit.ly/1aeQzGn and email the completed form to rosenowc@mhawestchester.org.
HVN-LHV has grown from a collaboration among CHOICE of NY, The Empowerment Center, Human Development Services of Westchester (HDSW), New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services, Inc. (NYAPRS), The Mental Health Association of Westchester (MHA), The Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health, and Westchester Independent Living Center (WILC).
