Eight years since it was first staged as a one-night show, Listening to Voices has reached thousands of people with a powerful message about mental health.
Listening to Voices is a rights-based, lived-experience theatre project originating from Gateway Health in Wodonga, on the NSW-Victorian border. that uses personal stories to challenge mental health stigma.
Rooted in co-design and lived experience, it aligns with significant studies and commissions, making a substantial impact on community awareness and mental health practices.
The artistic leadership and process — with the collaboration of a health professional, an arts professional and people with lived experience — is at the heart of the project’s success.
Artistic director Catherine Simmonds OAM has been with the project since the beginning and brings a wealth of experience and expertise in transforming people’s lived experience into powerful performances that address key social issues.
“The original short-term project has continued for eight years because it offers a unique and unforgettable means of addressing contemporary mental health system issues,” Gateway Health Project Manager Kate Fiske said.
“It highlights what can go wrong if we ignore childhood trauma, the impacts of violence and stigma, and people’s humanity in seeking solutions to psychological distress.
“It also seeks to show what we can do in preventing trauma and creating better responses when people seek help.”
Researchers from RMIT recently undertook an evaluation of the project that found the performance storytelling medium used in Listening to Voices was a powerful tool that challenged stigma; raised consciousness about mental distress and voice hearing; humanized the experience of mental distress; and, highlighted the gaps in treatment and service systems.
The research team, led by Professor Robyn Martin and included social work student researchers Freya Boopalan and Georgia Duncan, found while the performance motivated the audience to make changes, it also had a positive impact on the performers themselves.
“The arts are a powerful way of communicating ideas and experience which in turn stretches the understanding and empathy of the audience,” Professor Martin said.
“Through our evaluation, which involved interviews with the performers and analysis of seven years of audience feedback, we found the performers experienced greater social connection and camaraderie with their fellow performers while the performance empowered them to reclaim authority of their lived experience.”
Listening to Voices aims to continue its work, emphasising the power of lived experience and community collaboration to drive mental health system change.
“This work is relevant in so many spaces to drive other initiatives and conversations; domestic violence and childhood trauma, mental health, suicide, bullying and, importantly, stigma and its personal and social impacts,” Ms Fiske said.
Since the initial performance in 2016, Listening to Voices has performed more than 35 shows on national and international stages at corporate, community and conference events.
A suite of online resources was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic and it has been recognised with several awards including the Victorian Minister for Health’s Volunteer Award in 2019.
Find out more at https://listeningtovoices.org.au/
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