The Joyful Schizophrenic Goes to Yale: A Day in the Life of a Research Guinea Pig

On October 15th, 2025, I packed up my joy, my schizophrenia, and a healthy dose of curiosity, and headed to Yale University to participate in a research study aimed at helping voice hearers live more successfully with their voices. I was part of the “formerly heard voices” control group—a sort of spiritual benchmark for comparison.

After a two-hour Metro North ride from Grand Central to New Haven, I was welcomed with a plush stay at the New Haven Hotel. Free fruit, muffins, and coffee? Yes, please. It felt like the Ritz, if the Ritz had a clinical agenda and a fondness for brain scans.

The next morning, I reported to the Yale Powers Lab at 7:30 a.m., ready to be poked, prodded, and politely interrogated. First came memory and problem-solving tests. Then they slid me into an MRI tube—a glorified coffin with earbuds and a mirrored helmet that projected images. I held a gadget with two buttons: one for “yes” and one for “no.”

Let me tell you: lying motionless in a tight space for over two hours while your nose itches and your bladder screams is not for the faint of heart. The sounds in the earbuds ranged from “mildly annoying” to “whoa, that’s loud,” but the researchers were quick to adjust. And yes, they do let you out if you have to pee—thank God.

After lunch, it was EEG time. Picture a swim cap with electrodes and goo, plus more earbuds and a dark room with a glowing screen. It was like being in a sci-fi escape room, minus the escape. At least I wasn’t confined this time—just mildly claustrophobic.

The experience was fun, tedious, emotionally intense, and even a little traumatic. I’m still processing it. One researcher looked at my brain scan and said, “That’s a pretty big brain,” which I took as both a compliment and a possible side effect of twenty years on antipsychotics.

They didn’t share my test results (boo), but promised to send the final research paper in six months (yay?). They did, however, pay me $300 in cash and covered my travel and food expenses. So if you’re brave, adventurous, patient, and have a history of hearing voices, I highly recommend signing up. You’ll learn a lot—mostly about yourself.

Interested? Reach me at 929-884-3564 or daniel.frey@fountainhouse.org. Just be ready to lie still, listen hard, and maybe discover you’ve got a pretty big brain too.