BACKGROUND:
Medication-resistant, persistent auditory hallucinations are pervasive in persons with schizophrenia. Behavior strategies are often very effective as adjunctive therapy to decrease the negative characteristics of this symptom.
OBJECTIVES:
The purpose of this multi-site intervention study was to examine the short-term effects of a 10-week course to teach behavior management of persistent auditory hallucinations on seven characteristics of auditory hallucinations (i.e., frequency, loudness, self-control, clarity, tone, distractibility, and distress), anxiety, and depression.
STUDY DESIGN:
A quasi-experimental repeated measured design was used. The sample included 62 outpatients with schizophrenia who reported daily persistent auditory hallucinations. Measures included the Characteristics of Auditory Hallucinations Questionnaire, the tension-anxiety subscale of the Profile of Mood States, and the Beck Depression Inventory II.
RESULTS:
Preintervention scores for the frequency (p
<
.001), self-control (p
<
.03), clarity (p
<
.01), tone (p
<
.03), distractibility (p
<
.006), and distress (p
<
.001) improved compared with preintervention scores. Postintervention scores on anxiety and depression were also significantly lower than preintervention scores (p
<
.02, p
<
.001, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS:
Teaching behavior management of persistent auditory hallucinations in a standardized 10-week course is clinically effective and can be incorporated into many existing outpatient programs.
1. Attendance at a 10-week class designed to teach behavioral management strategies to people with schizophrenia was effective in reducing some of the negative characteristics of auditory hallucinations for 12 months and in reducing anxiety for 9 months after completion of the class. 2. The sustained improvement experienced by class participants was characterized by their voices being less frequent and more mumbled and the participants feeling more in control, less distractible, and less anxious. 3. Participants recommended that other mental health consumers take similar classes to learn how to better manage their voices. 4. Monthly support groups may help participants maintain gains lost during the follow-up period.
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