Schizophrenia Bulletin
August 8, 2018
T. M. Luhrmann, Ben Alderson‐day, Vaughan Bell et al.
74 citations
Trauma can contribute to voice-hearing but is not necessary for it. This article uses ethnographic and other data to show multiple pathways to voice-hearing in both clinical and nonclinical populations, excluding known causes like drugs or epilepsy. Trauma sometimes plays a major role, sometimes a minor role, and sometimes no role at all. Distinct phenomenological patterns in voice-hearing may reflect different salience of trauma for those who hear voices.
Psychology of Consciousness Theory Research and Practice
June 12, 2025
Etzel Cardeña, Aviva Berkovich‐ohana, Katja Valli et al.
11 citations
A multidisciplinary, international group used taxonomic principles and a modified Delphi method to create a taxonomy of altered states of consciousness based on central phenomenological features. They identified eight distinct states, some with subcategories: proto and transitional, delirium, minimal to no awareness, experiential detachment, enhanced physicality, altered identity, imaginary/fantasy/visionary, and unity/mystical. The authors hope this taxonomy will foster conceptual clarity and stimulate research across specializations, helping reveal what is common and different across triggers and antecedents of altered states, and encouraging phenomenological, psychological, cultural, and neuroscientific understanding.
Culture Medicine and Psychiatry
November 30, 2023
T. M. Luhrmann, John Dulin, Vivian Dzokoto
8 citations
Some religious experts in Ghana's traditional religion—okomfo priests who speak with their gods—may experience a schizophrenia-like psychotic process that is managed by their religious practice, allowing them to function effectively without being seen as ill. Phenomenological interviews and a novel auditory probe revealed that priests shared common understandings of how gods speak, but their personal experiences varied widely: some heard auditory, negative voices; others described trance-like states linked to trauma or violence; some reported sleep-related events; and some interpreted ordinary inner speech. These differences aligned with responses to an auditory clip simulating psychosis voice-hearing. The findings suggest that apprenticeship training in talking with gods, combined with a non-stigmatizing identity, may shape the content and emotional tone of voices associated with a psychotic process.
Psychosis
January 6, 2022
Julia G. Lebovitz, Chris Ahnallen, T. M. Luhrmann
1 citation
COVID-19 influenced the content of auditory hallucinations and delusions for many people with psychosis, but the effect was not uniform. Some patients reported that ideas about the virus appeared in their hallucinations and shaped paranoid thoughts, and a few felt the frequency or loudness of voices increased. Others said the virus had not affected their experience. The increased social isolation, financial insecurity, and socio-political climate of the pandemic period also seemed to negatively impact individuals with psychosis. The findings illustrate how societal and external factors can shape the experience of psychosis.
Terrain
January 1, 2022
T. M. Luhrmann
1 citation
The phenomenology of psychosis is notoriously difficult to grasp. This paper presents a case study of psychotic voices in which neither words nor voice proper figures prominently. It reflects on the strangeness of these experiences and points to central features of voice-hearing: not-me-ness, a different realness, and presence. When madness begins, it can feel like grace or art, making the dull everyday become iridescent; people sense wild swans, floating angels, and other phenomena.