Reliving, Replaying Lived Experiences Through Auditory Verbal Hallucinations: Implications on Theories and Management.
Smriti Vallath, Tanya M Luhrmann, Joske Bunders, Lakshmi Ravikant, Vandana Gopikumar
Frontiers in Psychiatry 2018 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00528 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 21 |
| Population | Individuals experiencing auditory hallucinations and accessing mental health treatment services at a not-for-profit organization |
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Auditory verbal hallucinations Lived experiences Treatment strategies Voice-hearing |
| Key findings | The authors report that the content and form of voices were linked to individuals' negative life experiences, which they argue contribute to the development and maintenance of hallucinations. They propose that treatment should focus on voice content and past experiences, and put forth a model conceptualizing the diversity of voice-hearing phenomenology. |
Abstract
Objective: This study aims to understand the impact of negative life experience (NLE) in auditory hallucinations (AHs) and explain the heterogeneity in phenomenology of auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs).
Method: In depth interviews were conducted with 21 individuals (7 males and 14 females) experiencing AHs and accessing mental health treatment services at a not-for-profit organization. Maximum variation purposive sampling technique was used to select the sample to ensure variegation is accounted for and was collected until saturation of themes data was obtained.
Results: Various different forms and functions of hallucinations are obtained with an evident pattern that links voices back to the NLE of the individual. Implications for therapeutic methods focusing on distress arising from said NLE is emphasized.
Conclusions: The results obtained from this study implicate NLEs as a contributing factor in the development and maintenance of hallucinations. Sociocultural factors act as a catalyst with psychological factors creating distress and contributing to the voice-hearing experience. Treatment strategies must thus focus on content of voices and past experiences of the individual to promote recovery. A model toward conceptualization of the diversity in phenomenology is put forth.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualitative thematic analysis of the phenomenology of near-death experiences Cardiac arrest survivors | 2018 | Qualitative study | n = 34 |
| Phenomenology and Sequelae of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine Use Psychiatrists who had taken MDMA | 1992 | Qualitative study | n = 20 |
| A phenomenology of meditation-induced light experiences: traditional buddhist and neurobiological perspectives American Buddhist practitioners | 2014 | Qualitative study | |
| Evoking the ineffable: The phenomenology of extreme sports. Extreme sports participants across three continents, including BASE jumping, big wave... | 2017 | Qualitative study | n = 15 |
| Phenomenology and content of the inhaled N, N-dimethyltryptamine (N, N-DMT) experience. Naturalistic inhaled N,N-DMT experiences posted to the r/DMT Reddit community | 2022 | Qualitative analysis | n = 3,778 |
Citations in the library
Cites 3
- The Phenomenological Diversity of Hallucinations: Some theoretical and clinical implications Psychologica Belgica March 1, 2006
- Auditory verbal hallucinations in schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder: common phenomenology, common cause, common interventions? Frontiers in Psychology 2015
- Culture and hallucinations: overview and future directions. Schizophrenia Bulletin July 1, 2014