The role of spirituality when making sense of hearing voices
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding the role of spirituality when making sense of hearing voices.
IRAS ID
206180
Contact name
Sophie Lewis
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Humber NHS Teaching Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 16 days
Research summary
An interview based investigation into the role of spirituality when people are making sense of hearing voices that no-one else can hear. Research has shown that spirituality can have both a positive and negative effect on an individual’s mental health, so this study aims to focus on the impact of spirituality, with regards to voice hearing. Research also offers that the sense-making process is important to the ‘recovery’ from a traumatic or unusual experience. The research is interested in whether spirituality does play a role in making sense of this experience, whether this help or hindered the individual, and whether this impacted their experiences of mental health services. Participants will be people who hear voices, and they will be invited to an interview, lasting about 90 minutes, at their service locality or the University of Hull. This research will hopefully increase the understanding of the importance of an individual’s spirituality to their life story within mental health services. It is also hoped that it will help to reduce the negative stigma around hearing voices, and offer the perspective that it is a meaningful human experience.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Sheffield Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/YH/0228
Date of REC Opinion
9 Jun 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion