Development, implementation and evaluation of Altered States of Consciousness: an immersive art exhibition designed to increase public awareness of psychotic experiences
S. Riches, Rich Maskey, Patrick Dishman, Jonny Benjamin Mbe, R. Waddingham, Charlie Tebrook, Eve Mundy, Phoebe Roberts, H. Fisher
Arts & Health May 4, 2019 DOI: 10.1080/17533015.2018.1443948 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Pilot study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 150 |
| Population | Visitors to an immersive art exhibition |
| Intervention | video installation |
| Topics | Altered states of consciousness |
| Key points | The immersive art installation enhanced visitors' subjective understanding of voice hearing and increased compassion without being unduly stressful. |
Abstract
Background The arts can increase public awareness of mental health. Stigma about psychosis remains high despite common occurrences of psychotic experiences in the general population (e.g. hearing voices, seeing visions, and other unusual sensory experiences). Targeted approaches may therefore benefit stigma reduction. This project aimed to produce an immersive art installation that increased public understanding of psychotic experiences.Methods Development stages included workshops with people with lived experience, training actors to perform “voices”, sourcing artworks, and producing a voice hearing simulation and video installation.Results The exhibition was implemented as intended, gained positive visitor feedback (N = 150), felt immersive, enhanced subjective understanding of voice hearing, increased compassion and was not unduly stressful. A production team meeting (N = 10) identified exhibition strengths, challenges, and potential modifications.Conclusions This successful, large-scale pilot of an immersive art exhibition combined creative, academic, and experiential perspectives. It enabled visitors to “hear voices” and increased their understanding of psychotic experiences.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on altered states of consciousness, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evaluating sensory regulation as a method to improve awareness in patients with altered states of consciousness: A pilot study Patients undergoing sensory intervention (four in a sensory regulated environment, four... | 1992 | Controlled pilot study | n = 8 |
| Altered states of consciousness within therapeutic modalities - exploring commonalities of experience Trainers, practitioners, and clients from Hypnotherapy, Past-life Regression, Internal... | 2022 | Qualitative Grounded Theory pilot study | n = 12 |
| Altered States of Consciousness during Exercise, Active-Alert Hypnosis, and Everyday Waking State. Runners, spinning-class participants, active-alert hypnosis subjects, and students in a... | 2022 | Retrospective nonrandomized comparison | n = 375 |
| Altered States of Consciousness: Evaluation of a voice‐hearing simulation during an immersive art exhibition Visitors to an art gallery and the London Underground | 2018 | Pilot study | n = 150 |
Citations in the library
Cites 3
- Altered States of Consciousness: Evaluation of a voice‐hearing simulation during an immersive art exhibition Early Intervention in Psychiatry October 1, 2018
- Dissociation, trauma, and the role of lived experience: toward a new conceptualization of voice hearing. Psychological Bulletin January 2012
- Voice hearing within the context of hearers' social worlds: an interpretative phenomenological analysis. Psychology and psychotherapy April 13, 2011