RCN Wales Nurse of the Year champions World Hearing Voices Day to encourage discussion and prevent stigma

12 September 2025

Sunday, September 14 is World Hearing Voices Day - an opportunity to raise awareness about the experience of hearing voices that others don’t hear, and to challenge the stigma and fear that prevents many people from speaking about it.

RCN Wales Nurse of the Year 2024 Madelaine Watkins is a Clinical Nurse Specialist in ‘voices, visions and unshared beliefs,’ experiences that are sometimes described as ‘Psychosis’. She works within Mental Health Services for Older People in Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.

Madelaine said: “Hearing voices is actually quite a common experience. But many people don't feel able to safely talk about it because of fear of how others may react. World Hearing Voices Day is a chance to raise awareness, reduce stigma and help people to start talking about it.”

There are many different ways and many different reasons people can experience hearing voices, other unshared experiences and altered states of consciousness. Often people assume that it means someone is experiencing some form of mental illness.

“Some people do see it as part of an illness and of course that's fine, if that’s what makes the most sense to them,” said Madelaine. “But a lot of voice hearers don't see it this way. Some might see it as a spiritual experience or as a trauma response or just part of who they are. Some people hear voices and they get on with their lives alongside them - it doesn't affect them negatively. For others it can be distressing and confusing. World Hearing Voices Day offers an opportunity to talk about it more openly with others who hear voices without fear of being labelled or judged.” 

Madelaine is a member of the UK charity Hearing Voices Network (HVN), that states ‘between 3% and 10% of the population hear voices that other people don’t.’ The organisation promotes peer-led support groups as safe spaces for people of all ages to share their experiences and provides training and workshops. Alongside Madelaine and her manager Gail Lewis, they have arranged some very successful and popular training for staff, carers and voice hearers in Cardiff and Vale UHB over the past few years. 

Intervoice is the international charity that supports the HVN. This global charity hosts an annual World Hearing Voices Congress. This year’s event takes place on October 10-11 in Prague, with both online and in-person sessions including workshops and keynote addresses.

Madelaine said: “Meeting other people who have a similar experience in a compassionate and supportive space can help to reduce the stigma and shame around voice hearing and help people to learn how to live well with the experiences and start to make sense of what's happening.”

Madelaine has recently co-produced and hosted the first ever Voices and Visions intergenerational pop-up therapeutic community day in Cardiff. The gathering was funded by the Mental Health Clinical Board and Cardiff & Vale Health Charity, with over 60 attendees.

She concludes: “The voice hearers that I have worked with over the years have such diverse and often meaningful experiences. Approaching people with just bio-medical model theory of what is happening can be unhelpful for some, especially if they don’t believe that is the cause. We need to remember that people often have all the resources they need within them and their family/social network to navigate these experiences (sometimes with some support and guidance) and to go on to live well with or without the ongoing experience of hearing voices. It's a privilege to be able to be alongside people during these incredibly difficult times and to have the opportunity to offer support and understanding.”

Please note that if you have got any serious concerns about your mental health, you can access immediate support by calling NHS 111 press 2.