A randomised controlled pilot study of Experience Focused Counselling with voice hearers

Schnackenberg, Joachim; Fleming, Mick; Martin, Colin R.

Abstract

Background: There is a need for improved psychosocial interventions for distressed voice hearers.
Aims: To evaluate a novel approach to hearing voices: Experience Focused Counselling (EFC) aka Making Sense of Voices.
Study design and methods: Twelve voice hearers were randomly assigned to a 44-week EFC or Treatment As Usual intervention as part of a pilot study design.
Results: At the end of intervention, EFC showed clinically large treatment effect improvements on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale – Expanded Version psychotic symptoms (Cohen’s d=1.6) and overall psychopathology domains (d=1.3), and the Psychotic Symptom Rating Scales voices (d=1) and delusions (aka nonshared reality) (d=1) scales. EFC voice hearers also felt more able to do first trauma disclosures (n=4) than TAU group voice hearer (n=1).
Discussion: EFC improvements may have been related to the focus on reducing voices-related distress. EFC holds some promise as a safe and effective intervention for voice hearers, with possible improvements in general psychopathology, psychosis, voices and non-shared reality (aka delusions)-related distress. This will need replicating in more powerful studies.

Citation

Schnackenberg, J., Fleming, M., & Martin, C. R. (2017). A randomised controlled pilot study of Experience Focused Counselling with voice hearers. Psychosis, 9(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/17522439.2016.1185452

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 29, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Jul 5, 2016
• Publication Date: Jan 17, 2017
• Deposit Date: Jan 30, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 6, 2017
• Journal: Psychosis
• Print ISSN: 1752-2439
• Electronic ISSN: 1752-2447
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 1-13
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17522439.2016.1185452
• Keywords: Experience focussed counselling, hearing voices, making sense of voices, psychosis, randomised controlled trial, schizophrenia
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/677644