Voices Clinic
National telehealth-based clinic for people with persisting experiences of hearing voices or hallucinations.
About the clinic
The Voices Clinic, run by Swinburne, is a specialist psychological treatment and research clinic for people who hear voices or have similar experiences.
At the clinic, we provide:
- an initial consultation appointment to discuss your experiences, provide advice and discuss therapy options via the clinic and elsewhere
- the opportunity to take part in research trials of new therapy approaches
- one-to-one sessions with a Voices Clinic therapist using current best practice psychological therapy
- signposting to self-help and community resources including hearing voices groups
All therapy at the clinic is supervised by Professor Neil Thomas – an international expert on hearing voices and hallucinations.
All sessions take place alongside the individual’s usual treatment. We cannot provide advice on medication or crisis management.
What do we mean when we say ‘hearing voices’?
Hearing voices is a term used to describe the experience of hearing someone or something talking when the source of the voice is not directly present. Some people also hear other noises and sounds. There are a number of different terms used to describe this experience, including 'voice-hearing' or 'auditory hallucinations'.
Hearing voices is more common than people realise. About 10 percent of people report that they have heard voices at some time in their life. Some people describe hearing pleasant voices, but for many people, the voices are unwanted, intrusive, negative, critical or threatening.
People often say that these difficult voices can make them feel worried, frightened, down, embarrassed or frustrated. They can also make it hard to concentrate or be around other people or get in the way of doing day-to-day things. The experience of hearing voices can be very different from person to person, and it can change over time.
Voices might be experienced inside the head or outside the head. They might be the voice of someone recognisable or familiar or be unknown. There might be many voices, or just one or two. They can be loud, or quiet like a whisper. Sometimes they are just brief and sometimes very persistent.
When hearing voices is causing distress or getting in the way of living life, there are treatments that may be helpful. At the Voices Clinic, we research and deliver psychological therapies (sometimes referred to as ‘talking therapies’) and support in methods of self-managing hearing voices. These aim to help reduce the problems and distress caused by hearing voices, so people can be less bothered by them and get on with life.
Want to refer a client to the Voices Clinic?
The Voices Clinic has extended its online service and is now operating all appointments using secure online videoconferencing.
You can refer a client to the clinic for an initial consultation appointment where we can provide advice, discuss options for accessing therapy and support, including via participation in research trials.
Referrals do not require a Mental Health Care Plan and can be accepted from any health professional or community mental health worker.
Are you hearing voices?
The Voices Clinic Online offers specialist online video consultation appointments. We can provide advice and discuss options for accessing therapy and support, including via participation in research trials.
To make a self-referral, please call +61 3 9214 4840 and leave your contact details or email voicesclinic@swinburne.edu.au to find out more about the clinic.
Take part in our latest clinical trial
We are currently inviting people to take part in the AMETHYST trial, which is an Australia-wide telehealth-based therapy trial for hearing voices funded by the Australian Government.
This trial compares a new therapy called Avatar Therapy with current best practice therapy. Everyone enrolled in this trial will be offered an evidence-based therapy with an experienced therapist.
Other research opportunities
The clinic conducts a broad range of research on new therapies, on understanding the experience of voices, and on causes, mechanisms and recovery. We collaborate with Voices Vic and with other international experts on hearing voices.
The research we conduct can involve a range of different methods including interviews, focus groups, questionnaires, computerised tasks and brain imaging. If you’re interested in participating in other research about hearing voices, you can join our research participant registry.
Our people
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Professor Neil Thomas
Clinical Director -
Professor Susan Rossell
Research Director -
Dr Rachel Brand
Therapy Lead, AMETHYST -
Dr Leila Jameel
Clinical Supervisor
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Resources for practitioners and clients
Access a range of resources from the Voices Clinic to support practitioners in helping clients that hear voices or other similar experiences.
Popular research publications
Brand, R., McEnery, C., Bendall, S., Rossell, S. L., & Thomas, N. (2018). Do trauma-focused psychological interventions have an effect on psychotic symptoms? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Schizophrenia Research, 195, 13-22.
Read more
Thomas, N., Hayward, M., Peters, E., van der Gaag, M., Bentall, R. P., Jenner, J. M., McCarthy-Jones, S. (2014). Psychological therapies for auditory hallucinations (voices): Current status and key research directions. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 40 (suppl. 4), s202–s212.
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Corstens, D., Longden, E., McCarthy-Jones, S., Waddingham, R., & Thomas, N. (2014). Emerging perspectives from the Hearing Voices Movement: Implications for therapeutic and research practice. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 40 (suppl. 4), s285–s294.
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Contact the Voices Clinic
There are many ways to engage with the Voices Clinic at Swinburne. Call +61 3 9214 4840 or email voicesclinic@swinburne.edu.au.