Listening to Schneiderian Voices: A Novel Phenomenological Analysis

This paper reports on analyses designed to elucidate phenomenological characteristics, content and experience specifically targeting participants with Schneiderian voices conversing/commenting (VC) while exploring differences in clinical presentation and quality of life compared to those with voices not conversing (VNC).

This mixed-method investigation of Schneiderian voices included standardized clinical metrics and exploratory phenomenological interviews designed to elicit in-depth information about the characteristics, content, meaning, and personification of auditory verbal hallucinations.

The subjective experience shows a striking pattern of VC, as they are experienced as internal at initial onset and during the longer-term course of illness when compared to VNC. Participants in the VC group were more likely to attribute the origin of their voices to an external source such as God, telepathic communication, or mediumistic sources. VC and VNC were described as characterological entities that were distinct from self (I/we vs. you). We also found an association between VC and the positive, cognitive, and depression symptom profile. However, we did not find a significant group difference in overall quality of life.

The clinical portrait of VC is complex, multisensory, and distinct, and suggests a need for further research into the biopsychosocial interface between subjective experience, socioenvironmental constraints, individual psychology, and the biological architecture of intersecting symptoms.