At the Voices Clinic, we provide:

  • an initial appointment to discuss your experiences, provide advice and discuss therapy options at the clinic and elsewhere (including voices groups)

  • one-to-one sessions to help self-manage hearing voices

  • current best practice one-to-one psychological therapy from a clinic therapist

  • the opportunity to take part in research trials of new therapy approaches.


All therapy at the clinic is supervised by Associate Professor Neil Thomas. Neil is 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% 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. Referrals do not require a Mental Health Care Plan and can be accepted from any health professional or community mental health worker. 

Refer a client
Are you hearing voices?

The Voices Clinic Online offers specialist online video consultation. 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 about the clinic. 

Email the team

Take part in our research 

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 research about hearing voices you can join our research participant registry.
 

Join the registry

Our publications

Bell, I. H., Fielding-Smith, S., Hayward, M., Rossell, S. L., Lim, M. H., Farhall, J., & Thomas, N. (2018). Smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment and intervention in a coping-focused intervention for hearing voices (SAVVy): Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials, 19, 262.
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Bell, I. H., Fielding-Smith, S., Rossell, S. L., Hayward, M., Farhall, J., Lim, M. H., Thomas, N. (2018). Smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment and intervention in a blended coping-focused therapy for distressing voices: Development and case illustration. Internet Interventions, 14, 18-25.
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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. 
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Contact the Voices Clinic

There are many ways to engage with the Voices Clinic here at Swinburne. Contact the clinic on +61 3 9214 4840 or email the team via voicesclinic@swinburne.edu.au.

Contact us