Are you aged 16–25 with personal experience of hearing voices others don’t?
Would you like to help develop an app for young voice-hearers who might be struggling to cope with their experiences?
The project so far …
Back in 2019 we launched Understanding Voices, a website for voice-hearers, family members and health professionals. The ‘Living with Voices’ section, written by voice-hearers for voice-hearers, is a popular part of the site, so we’ve been developing it into an app for young people who hear voices.
Earlier this year we ran three co-design workshops with voice-hearers (aged 16–25) to find out what they would (and wouldn’t) want from an app.
Since then, we’ve developed a prototype version of a pilot app based on some of their ideas. Now we’re seeking some feedback on what’s been created.
How can I get involved?
We’re looking for a group of young people (aged 16–25) with first-hand experience of hearing voices who would be willing to try out the prototype version of our pilot app. We’re still at the early stages so the app is very much in small scale, draft form. If you’d like to take part in the testing process, you can choose to complete an online survey, sign up for our prototype testing workshop or both. Then, when the prototype is ready, we’ll send you instructions on how you can download a free password protected version from the Play Store or the App Store.
When will the prototype testing take place?
The workshop will take place on Zoom (an online meeting platform) on:
- Monday 4 July (6–7.30pm)
It will be facilitated by Rai Waddingham (voice-hearer, mental health trainer), Sarah Morgan from Voice Collective, Ben Alderson-Day (a researcher) and Victoria Patton (a project manager). Whether you’re new to Zoom or an old hand at digital workshops, we’ll make sure everyone is fully supported to take part.
The survey will be live from Friday 24 June to Wednesday 8 July.
Why should I take part?
We hope you’ll take part because you’d like to help shape an app for young people who hear voices and make it as useful as possible. Our commitment to you is that we will listen to your ideas and suggestions and use them in a meaningful way. Everyone who participates in the workshop will also receive a generous shopping voucher as a token of appreciation for their time and expertise. Participants in the online survey will receive a £10 Amazon voucher.
Who is involved in this project?
The Living with Voices app is a collaboration between Hearing the Voice and the Institute for Medical Humanities (Durham University), Voice Collective (a London-based organisation that supports young people who hear, see, or sense things others don’t), Rachel Waddingham (voice-hearer, mental health trainer), and Dr Sarah Parry (Lancaster University), who was the lead researcher on the Young Voices Study (Manchester Metropolitan University). It is funded by the Durham Economic and Social Research Council Impact Accelerator Awards, Research England and the Wellcome Trust.
Do I need to live in the UK to be part of this?
No. The co-design process is open to any young person who hears voices and would like to get involved. The workshops will take place in English and all times are Greenwich Mean Time.
How can we support you to participate?
We’d like to hear from young people of different genders, sexual orientations, (dis)abilities, ethnic and religious backgrounds. If there is anything we can do to help you to participate, please let us know.
I’d like to take part. What do I do?
To register an interest in taking part in the prototype testing workshop, please email Victoria Patton telling us a bit about yourself and why you’d like to participate.
To take part in the online survey please fill in this short registration form.
We look forward to hearing from you!
If you have any questions about this project, feel free to get in touch with Victoria.