Social Sense-Making and Explanatory Models for Voice-Hearing Within Hearing Voices Network Groups

The causal explanations voice-hearers have for their voice-hearing experiences may influence affective outcome and clinical decision making. Voice-hearers endorse a range of explanatory models, which do not consistently align with explanatory models held by healthcare professionals. Research has established that explanatory models for voice-hearing are dynamic rather than fixed, and are influenced by internal beliefs and motivations, culture, and contact with significant others. Although social meaning making is potentially significant, opportunities to engage in this may be limited. Hearing Voices Groups are one venue in which shared meaning making might be more available or acceptable. This study was designed to seek further information about how shared sense-making is involved in the development of causal models, and what is the role of Hearing Voices Groups in supporting this. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 participants who self-identified as voice-hearers and had attended at least three Hearing Voices Network group sessions in the UK. The interviews were analysed using reflexive Thematic Analysis. Two themes, with six subthemes were developed concerning the role of Hearing Voices Network Groups in the sense-making process. Hearing Voices Network groups were found to offer qualities of commonality, authenticity, understanding, and being non-judgemental, and with freedom to talk about voices without external pressure. This study broadens our understanding of how social sense-making is enhanced by the Hearing Voices Network groups. These qualities are suggested as important to social sense-making. They are not consistently found in clinical services accessed by voice-hearers.