Adaptation of a Hearing Voices Group Facilitation Training for VA Stakeholders

Erica Hua Fletcher; Ippolytos Kalofonos

doi:10.1007/s10597-022-00975-1

Adaptation of a Hearing Voices Group Facilitation Training for VA Stakeholders

Community Ment Health J. 2022 Nov;58(8):1592-1604. doi: 10.1007/s10597-022-00975-1. Epub 2022 May 16.

Authors

Erica Hua Fletcher^{1

2}, Ippolytos Kalofonos^{3

4

5

6}

Affiliations

¹ UCLA/VA Center of Excellence for Veteran Resilience and Recovery, UCLA Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1759, USA. efletcher@ucla.edu.
² Desert Pacific Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC), VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, 11301 Wilshire Boulevard, Building 218, Los Angeles, CA, 90073, USA. efletcher@ucla.edu.
³ UCLA/VA Center of Excellence for Veteran Resilience and Recovery, UCLA Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1759, USA.
⁴ Desert Pacific Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC), VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, 11301 Wilshire Boulevard, Building 218, Los Angeles, CA, 90073, USA.
⁵ Health Services Research & Development (HSR&D), Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation Implementation & Policy, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System Health Services, 11301 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90073, USA.
⁶ UCLA Center for Social Medicine and Humanities, UCLA Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, 760 Westwood Plaza B7-435, CA, 90095-1759, Los Angeles, USA.

Abstract

The Hearing Voices (HV) Movement promotes diverse understandings of voice-hearing and seeing visions, which mental health professionals commonly refer to as 'auditory hallucinations,' 'schizophrenia,' or 'psychosis.' Central to this movement are peer support groups through which attendees connect with others who have similar experiences. This paper describes an adaptation of a Hearing Voices group facilitation training at VA Greater Los Angeles (VAGLA) and discusses training modifications, along with trainee perceptions and implementation and intervention outcomes. This is a first step towards adapting HV-inspired groups to VA systems of care. Data collection involved surveys of trainees (n = 18) and field notes throughout the 24 h online training. Findings indicate high acceptability and appropriateness of the training and high feasibility in implementation, suggesting the training was well-adapted to VAGLA. This research contributes to global efforts to integrate the Hearing Voices approach in diverse settings and increase awareness about its benefits among providers.

Keywords: Group facilitation; Hearing voices; Peer support; Psychosis; Quality improvement; Training evaluation.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Hallucinations / psychology
Hallucinations / therapy
Hearing
Humans
Psychotic Disorders* / psychology
Schizophrenia*
Self-Help Groups

Grants and funding

K12 HS026407/HS/AHRQ HHS/United States