Bridging the divide between one reality and another

Talking and listening is a huge part of helping people diagnosed with schizophrenia, discovers Jennifer Hough who meets a man who knows all about it

BRIAN HARTNETT has been hearing voices for about 20 years. They are more or less with him all the time, and it is simply a part of life, he says.

He describes it like “sharing a house with people”. Sometimes it can be quiet and at other times it can be noisy.

“I would have certain central characters that have always been there, and others who come and go. If there are things going on I don’t like then I don’t engage.

“Most of time I do respond. I have no problem with my voice hearing and I have learned to live with it.”

Mr Hartnett, founder of a support group, Hearing Voices Ireland, maintains it is imperative that people diagnosed with schizophrenia are viewed as individuals and are treated from the point of view of mind, body and soul.

“Although I was diagnosed as having schizophrenia in 1996, and put on medication, I was lucky enough to realise there was more than just medication to dealing with it.”

Having been through his own journey of discovery and becoming very aware of his condition, Mr Hartnett feels he has a lot to offer. A peer advocate with the Irish Advocacy Network for seven years, the simple act of listening to people cannot be under estimated, he says. “I can work with people on a one-to-one basis, using the ‘open dialogue’ technique and offering counselling and support. It is important that people face up to their voices.”

Open dialogue is a Finnish alternative to the traditional mental health system for people diagnosed with psychoses such as schizophrenia. It involves long conversations with family and friends and, astonishingly, has the best outcomes for first- episode psychosis in the developed world.

Ongoing research shows that over 80% of those treated with the approach return to work and over 75% show no residual signs of psychosis. Official government statistics comparing 22 health districts in Finland found that the district with the system in place was the only one not to have any new chronic hospital patients in a two-year period.

The problem with psychiatry, Mr Hartnett maintains, is that it attempts to rigidly define people’s spiritual and mental experiences with labels like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, manic depression, personality disorder.

“The word schizophrenia has no relevance whatsoever to my daily experience other than a lot of people including family and friends see me in terms of being ‘schizophrenic’.

“Everything I do is seen in terms of being ‘ill’ and struggling with ‘the illness’.”

Mr Hartnett said the idea of hearing voices needs to be accepted more, and people should be supported to deal with it in a positive way.

“At the end of day, you are the one who will be waking alone with the voices, and one of the hardest things is the isolation.

“It’s like a double life because you have a relationship with the voices too. Sometimes you are caught trying to bridge the divide between one reality and another. If you talk to the right person, and they are willing to support you in that journey, people can live with it in a positive way.”

www.voicesireland.com