Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T10:04:29.205Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Group treatment of auditory hallucinations

Exploratory study of effectiveness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2018

Til Wykes ,
Ann-Marie Parr  and
Sabine Landau
Til Wykes*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, London
Ann-Marie Parr
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, London
Sabine Landau
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, London
*
T. Wykes, Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF. e-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background

Cognitive–behavioural therapy has been shown to be effective in reducing psychotic symptoms, but few patients have access to these services. Group cognitive treatment may provide a less costly service with similar benefits.

Aims

To explore the effectiveness of group cognitive–behavioural therapy on insight and symptoms, particularly auditory hallucinations.

Method

Twenty-one DSM–IV diagnosed patients with schizophrenia with treatment-resistant, distressing auditory hallucinations were referred to a group programme consisting of six sessions of cognitive treatment following a strict protocol which emphasised individual power and control as well as coping strategies.

Results

There were significant changes in all three main outcome measures following treatment; those changes were maintained at follow-up and were greater than changes over the waiting-list period. Specifically, there were changes in perceived power and distress as well as increases in the number and effectiveness of the coping strategies.

Conclusions

Group treatment for auditory hallucinations needs further investigation but does look promising and may provide a less costly alternative to individual cognitive treatment.

Type
Preliminary Report
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 175 , Issue 2 , August 1999 , pp. 180 - 185
Copyright
Copyright © 1999 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (1994) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edn) (DSM–IV). Washington, DC: APA.Google Scholar
Beck, A. T., Ward, C. H., Mendelson, M., et al (1961) An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 41, 561–567.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beck, A. T., Epstein, N., Brown, G., et al (1988) An inventory For measuring clinical anxiety: psychometric properties. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56, 893–897.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Birchwood, M., Smith, V., Drury, V., et al (1994) A self-report insight scale for psychosis: reliability, validity and sensitivity to change. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 89, 62–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Birchwood, M. & Chadwick, P. (1997) The omnipotence of voices: testing the validity of a cognitive model. Psychological Medicine, 27, 1345–1353.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carter, D. M., Mackinnon, A. & Copolov, D. L. (1996) Patients' strategies for coping with auditory hallucinations. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 184, 159–164.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chadwick, P. & Birchwood, M. (1995) The omnipotence of voices. II: The Beliefs About Voices Questionnaire (BAVQ). British Journal of Psychiatry, 166, 773–776.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cheung, P., Schweiter, I., Crowley, K., et al (1997) Violence in schizophrenia: role of hallucinations and delusions. Schizophrenia Research, 26, 181–190.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dixon, W. J. (ed.) (1992) BMDP Statistical Software Manual, Release 7. Berkeley, CA; University of California Press.Google Scholar
Everitt, B. (1998) Analysis of longitudinal data. Beyond MANOVA. British Journal of Psychiatry, 172, 7–10.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gledhill, A., Lobban, F. & Sellwood, W. (1998) Group CBT for people with schizophrenia: a preliminary evaluation. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 26, 63–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haddock, G., McCarron, J., Tarrier, N., et al (1999) Auditory Hallucinations Rating Scale. Scales to measure dimensions of hallucinations and delusions: the Psychotic Symptom Rating Scales (PSYRATS). Psychological Medicine, in press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kuipers, E., Garety, P., Fowler, D., et al (1997) London–East Anglia randomised controlled trial of cognitive–behavioural therapy for psychosis. I: Effects of the treatment phase. British Journal of Psychiatry, 171, 319–327.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lee, P. W. H., Lieh-Mak, F., Yu, K. K., et al (1993) Coping strategies of schizophrenic patients and their relationship to outcome. British Journal of Psychiatry, 163, 177–182.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosenberg, M. (1965) Society and the Adolescent Self-Image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tarrier, N., Yusupoff, L., Kinney, C., et al (1998) Randomised control trial of intensive cognitive behaviour therapy for patients with chronic schizophrenia. British Medical Journal, 317, 303–307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ventura, J., Green, M. F., Shanar, A., et al (1993) Training and quality assurance with the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 3, 221–244.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.