ABSTRACT
Auditory hallucinations are defined in DSM-IV as being 'a sensory perception that has the compelling sense of reality of a true perception but that occurs without external stimulation of the relevant sensory organ'. The prevalence of auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia has been calculated as occurring in over 60" of such patients, and they are often found to be the most common symptom observed in schizophrenia. Bentall has argued that a hallucinator's tendency to misattribute internal events to an external source may reflect a bias, rather than primarily a deficit, in the monitoring of internal events. cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) with psychotic patients shown it to be effective in reducing residual positive symptoms on an outpatient basis, and maintaining these gains at follow-up. Steven was offered an initial appointment following self-referral to a service delivering cognitive therapy for psychotic individuals.
