TY  - JOUR
AU  - Hickey, Tara
AU  - Strohmaier, Sarah
AU  - Fossey, Ellie
AU  - Heriot-Maitland, Charlie
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/04/25
TI  - The Acceptability and Impact of a Video on Compassion Focused Therapy as a Psycho-Educative Tool to Deepen Awareness around Voice-Hearing
JO  - OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine
SP  - 023
VL  - 09
IS  - 02
AB  - In the compassion focused therapy (CFT) model of voice-hearing, a distressing relationship with voices is thought to be influenced by evolved threat-protection patterns, which are activated and attuned by socially threatening experiences, such as being harmed by others, as well being shamed, stigmatised, invalidated, and excluded. Therefore, the CFT approach is particularly interested in the role of voice-hearers’ relationships with others and self, as well as their social context of family/friends, professionals/services, and the wider community. This article reports on the impact of a 5-minute film, ‘Compassion for Voices’, which aimed to engage a general public audience with the compassionate approach to relating with voices, with potential as a therapeutic, educational, and de-stigmatising tool. One hundred and thirty-seven people responded to an anonymous online public feedback survey asking about their perceived impact of this film, amongst whom were 20 voice-hearers, 30 family/friends of voice-hearers, and 87 who work with voice-hearers. Quantitative data were gathered from responders’ perceived impact ratings (yes/no) in several different domains, and qualitative feedback data were analysed using content analysis by an independent research team. Over 98% of total responders thought the film has, or could potentially have, an impact on people’s health and welfare, and within the subsamples of both family/friends and the people who directly work with voice-hearers, this was 100%. The qualitative data revealed main impact themes around knowledge and education, changes of attitudes or approaches to voice-hearing, and validation of people’s lived experience. Although there are limitations to the online survey method, and therefore caution around what conclusions can be drawn, this study demonstrated a clear value and perceived impact among the sample who responded. This offers support for the use of video tools for social and community interventions, which is very much in keeping with the theoretically- and empirically- supported aims of CFT.
SN  - 2573-4393
UR  - https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.icm.2402023
DO  - 10.21926/obm.icm.2402023
ID  - Hickey2024
ER  -