Self-help techniques for auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia

Even with the best treatment available in the United States, people with schizophrenia often remain troubled by auditory hallucinations. Given the less than optimal results of traditional mental health care, the following exploratory study was conducted. A convenience sample of 33 adult outpatients with schizophrenia were interviewed to elicit what (if any) self-help strategies they used for coping with auditory hallucinations. The patients were all being treated at a community mental health clinic. The self-help strategies reported by the patients included (a) physiological changes, (b) cognitive processes, and (c) behavioral changes. The strategies were then rank-ordered by frequency of use and self-reported effectiveness. Various self-help strategies used by subgroups were examined. Men used techniques that were more isolative, and women used more interpersonal techniques to cope with their auditory hallucinations. Participants hearing hostile "voices" (both men and women) tended to use substances such as alcohol and prescribed medications. The results of this study may be used to increase understanding of socially appropriate self-help coping strategies in patients with schizophrenia who experience auditory hallucinations.