Psychosocial coping strategies for auditory hallucinations
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Psychosocial coping strategies for auditory hallucinations

Tony Barlow Senior lecturer, Mental health nursing, Birmingham City University, England

This article considers ways of treating the potential distress arising from experiencing auditory hallucinations without the use of pharmacology. A brief discussion of the prevalence of auditory hallucinations is followed by an overview of different perspectives of treating mental illness and the potential need for treatment using non-pharmacological interventions. It is highlighted that many voice hearers are not in contact with formal psychiatric services and the author examines potential methods of managing distress caused by hallucinations. A review of research in this area is presented with the aim of identifying common themes of such coping so that they may be taught to others. While several themes are identified, no unifying method of coping is noted. Recommendations for voice hearers, clinicians and researchers are presented.

Mental Health Practice. doi: 10.7748/mhp.2018.e1273

Citation

Barlow T (2018) Psychosocial coping strategies for auditory hallucinations. Mental Health Practice. doi: 10.7748/mhp.2018.e1273

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and has been checked for plagiarism using automated software

Correspondence

tony.barlow@bcu.ac.uk

Conflict of interest

None declared

Published online: 24 July 2018

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