Auditory verbal hallucinations in first-episode psychosis: a phenomenological investigation
Rachel Upthegrove,
Jonathan Ives,
Matthew R. Broome,
Kimberly Caldwell,
Stephen J. Wood,
Femi Oyebode
Affiliations
Rachel Upthegrove
School of Clinical & Experimental Medicine, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK
Jonathan Ives
Society and History, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
Matthew R. Broome
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK Warneford Hospital, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK Division of Mental Health and Wellbeing, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
Kimberly Caldwell
School of Clinical & Experimental Medicine, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK
Stephen J. Wood
School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne & Melbourne Health, Carlton, Victoria, Australia
Femi Oyebode
School of Clinical & Experimental Medicine, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK
Background In dimensional understanding of psychosis, auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) are unitary phenomena present on a continuum from non-clinical voice hearing to severe mental illness. There is mixed evidence for this approach and a relative absence of research into subjective experience of AVH in early psychosis. Aims To conduct primary research into the nature of subjective experience of AVH in first-episode psychosis. Method A phenomenological study using diary and photo-elicitation qualitative techniques investigating the subjective experience of AVH in 25 young people with first-episode psychosis. Results AVH are characterised by: (a) entity, as though from a living being with complex social interchange; and (b) control, exerting authority with ability to influence. AVH are also received with passivity, often accompanied by sensation in other modalities. Conclusions A modern detailed phenomenological investigation, without presupposition, gives results that echo known descriptive psychopathology. However, novel findings also emerge that may be features of AVH in psychosis not currently captured with standardised measures.
