Tag Archives: auditory verbal hallucinations

For a Typology of Auditory Verbal Hallucinations Based on their Content

A paper published in Activitas nervosa Superior (2020), 62, pages 104–109.

Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) are a common symptom of schizophrenia. Studies have focused on a classification of AVHs, based on different criteria. Subtypes of AVHs have been defined, distinguishing according to whether they are internal/external, single/multiple, unimodal/multimodal, benevolent/malevolent, permanent/intermittent, etc. The purpose of this study is to propose a classification of AVHs based on their content. We first identify the subtype that is directly associated with the polythematic delusions inherent in schizophrenia. Second, we distinguish subtypes related to other comorbid psychiatric disorders associated with schizophrenia in the patient: generalized anxiety disorder, depression, body dysmorphic disorder, etc. Finally, we suggest that such a differentiation could allow a correlative adaptation of the corresponding cognitive-behaviour therapy.

This paper is cited in:

  • Isaacson, Maria et al. “The cognitive-phenomenological assessment of delusions and hallucinations at the early intervention in psychosis service stage: The results of a quality improvement project.” Early intervention in psychiatry (2022)