ABSTRACT
This paper will describe my attempt to understand the psychological mechanisms underlying hallucinatory experiences. Starting with some initial observations some twenty five years ago, I carried out a series of small scale studies which led to my propounding a provisional four-factor model of auditory hallucinations fifteen years ago. This model will be briefly described. During the last ten years a number of cognitive accounts of hallucinatory experience have appeared in the literature which share a common theme. Namely, they all suggest that hallucinations come about when individuals fail to recognise their own, internally-generated experience and attribute them to external causes. Several years ago I and Richard Bentall reviewed the scientific literature on hallucinations, including published papers on psychological treatments. We came to the conclusion that most psychological treatments work by encouraging patients to “focus” on their voices. We are currently conducting a controlled clinical study of “focusing treatment” versus “distraction therapy”. This will be briefly described. Finally, it will be suggested that we now have a convergence between psychological theory and practice in the area of hallucinations, which has not been the case before.
