7.3. Specialized Programmes for Voice Hearers. Although
psychiatric medication is still the primary treatment for
auditory hallucinations, voice-hearing problem of many
hearers persists. Helping the hearers to accept the voices on a
basis of coexistence is a helpful way to defuse their unwanted
internal sources of distress. In Hong Kong there is no
specialized treatment programme to help voice hearers to
cope with auditory hallucinations [39–41]. However, as there
are more people with schizophrenia living in the community,
there is a need for specialized programme to help them
cope with auditory hallucinations so that they can adjust to
community living.
7.4. Training for Professionals Working with People with
Auditory Hallucinations. There are a significant proportion
of people with schizophrenia who suffer from auditory hallucinations.
However, there has been a general lack of direction
in respect of casework, group therapy, self-help groups, family
education, and community networks for rendering specific
interventions for people with auditory hallucinations.
Psychiatric recovery in Hong Kong generally stress medical
care, and there is no systematic individual and self-help
group service for the voice hearers. As basic mental health
training does not cover work with psychiatric patients in
depth, not to mention those with auditory hallucinations,
there is a need to enhance the training of mental health professionals
so that they are equipped with knowledge to help
hearers cope with auditory hallucinations. With the implementation
of community care policy, professionals, such
as psychologists, psychiatric nurses, and psychiatric social
workers at different settings have encountered more clients
living in the community who face mental health problems,
in particular auditory hallucinations. Continuing education
programmes for effective practice or intervention with people
with auditory hallucinations should be provided so that
professionals can bring more knowledge and skills to bear
in psychiatric assessment of auditory hallucinations, in particular
with regard to their propensity toward self-harm or
violence, and in developing interventions with the clients.
7.5. Family Education for Family Caregivers of Voice Hearers.
For many Chinese patients with schizophrenia, family members
are still their primary caregivers. As a result of the illness,
voice hearers may not trust their families enough to share
their voices with them. Many family caregivers suffer great
emotional strain as they have to tolerate delusions, hallucinations,
and accusations from the patients. Many are frustrated
with the loneliness and helplessness involved in providing
care to their sick family members, as well as in encountering
discriminatory attitudes from the community at large. Family
education is therefore needed so that the family caregivers
may be equipped with knowledge about the prognosis of
schizophrenia and become better able to cope with the
impacts of the problem of auditory hallucinations. With such
knowledge and skills, family caregivers can play a key role
in the recovery of the voice hearers. This is an exploratory
study on auditory hallucinations of people in Hong Kong;
its results suggest that comprehensive research to study the
needs of family caregivers of people with schizophrenia in
Hong Kong is warranted.