Mental health professionals’ attitudes and knowledge about hearing voices groups

ABSTRACT Background An initiative was proposed to integrate local Hearing Voices Groups within statutory adult mental health services in a particular NHS Trust. The aim of this service evaluation was to assess clinician’s attitudes towards, and understandings, of the groups to better inform the proposal. Methods Multi-disciplinary NHS staff members were invited to participate in a brief survey on their attitudes towards and understanding about Hearing Voices Groups. The survey was co-produced with people with lived experience of hearing voices, and local mental health professionals. Content analysis was used to analyse qualitative data from an additional free text section of the survey. Results Forty mental health professionals responded to the survey. There was majority agreement (>50% agreement) on all items related to perceived benefit of Hearing Voices Groups. The findings also showed that only 25% of respondents felt that they were aware of the evidence base for Hearing Voices Groups and only 30% felt confident explaining Hearing Voices Groups to service users. Discussion The data suggest that the majority of mental health professionals hold positive attitudes towards Hearing Voices Groups. However, many expressed uncertainty about the evidence base and discussing the groups with service users, highlighting further training needs in these areas.