The modification of auditory hallucinations

✍ Scribed by Dr. Bill Himadi; James P. Curran III

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1995
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 904 KB
• Volume: 10
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1072-0847
• DOI: 10.1002/bin.2360100104

✦ Synopsis

The ABAB withdrawal design was used to document the effectiveness of a behavioral treatment package in reducing the duration of auditory hallucinations of a chronically mentally ill inpatient. Results revealed clear functional control of the treatment package over the occurrence of the subject's auditory hallucinations during a 2-hr time period.

Hallucinations are frequently defined as sensory perceptions occurring in the absence of external stimulation of the sensory organs (APA, 1987;. Hallucinations are a common feature of several psychiatric disorders including the schizophrenias, other psychotic disorders, and mood disorders. Hallucinations are also present in a variety of medical, neurological, and organic mental syndromes and disorders (Asaad & Shapiro, 1986).

Sartorius, Shapiro, and Jablensky (1974) estimated that 70% of a schizophrenic population experience hallucinations. Hallucinations among schizophrenics are most commonly found in the auditory modality, with recent prevalence rates ranging from 71 to 98% .

Pharmacological treatment continues to be the predominant one for auditory hallucinations. Several authors have noted, however, that a significant group of mentally ill individuals experience persistent auditory hallucinations despite