Short films, demonstrations, practices and other videos that bring compassionate ideas to life

Compassion for Voices

Compassion for Voices is a 5-minute animated film that charts the story of a young man, Stuart, from being tormented by his voices, through establishing safeness, to developing the qualities needed to relate to them with compassion.

Project leads: Charlie Heriot-Maitland & Kate Anderson.

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Developing a Compassionate Mind

Developing a Compassionate Mind was co-produced with The Difference, a charity in the education sector, to help educate parents of school children about ‘tricky brains’, ‘multiple selves’, and the role of compassion in helping to resolve family conflicts.

Project leads: Charlie Heriot-Maitland & Shaun Brown.

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Playlist – Controlled Explosions guided imagery exercises (3 videos)

These videos are recordings of me reading the guided imagery scripts from Controlled Explosions in Mental Health. The book’s three main exercises are: meeting your ‘day-to-day self’ (#6), your ‘younger self’ (#8), and your ‘future self’ (#10). In preparation for meeting with these ‘selves’, the exercises include sections of the scripts from: ‘ideal compassionate self’ (#1), ‘view from the balcony’ (#2), and ‘room with chairs’ (#3).

#1. Ideal compassionate self

#2. View from the balcony

#3. Room with chairs

#4. Calm place

#5. Meeting your ‘day-to-day self’ (without #1-3)

#6. Meeting your ‘day-to-day self’ – FULL (with #1-3)

#7. Meeting your ‘younger self’ (without #1-3)

#8. Meeting your ‘younger self’ – FULL (with #1-3)

#9. Meeting your ‘future self’ (without #1-3)

#10. Meeting your ‘future self’ – FULL (with #1-3)

#6 (20:35 mins)

#8 (18:46 mins)

#10 (19:26 mins)

Playlist – Engaging with voices with Charlie, Rufus & Elisabeth (15 videos)

#1. Introducing ourselves, the videos and our values

#2. Things to consider when you want to engage with voices

#3. Thinking about how to change the power balance

#4. Thinking about the function a voice might have

#5. How to work with nonverbal voices or voices that may not want to engage

#6. Mapping out voices in space

#7. Mapping out voices on paper

#8. Nurturing a compassionate self and encountering a voice

#9. Thinking about whether to talk directly or indirectly with a voice

#10. Talking to a voice from compassionate self

#11. Reflective practice with voices

#12. Talking to a voice that sounds like an abusive person from the past

#13. Writing with voices

#14. Talking with a voice can help understand its intentions

#15. Using the body

These 15 videos were created by Elisabeth Svanholmer, Charlie Heriot-Maitland and Rufus May (2019). Filming and editing by John Richardson and his team.

The Engaging with Voices videos are intended as inspiration and support for people interested in compassionate approaches to voices.

If you are hearing voices or having similar experiences and they are causing you distress we would encourage you to seek support from someone you trust.