Fear and trembling: A case study of voice hearing in schizophrenia as a self-disorder

Abstract

The case of a young man who had terrible voices from a mental health unit for first psychotic episodes is exposed. After referring the biographical background, we focus on the experiences of voices and attitudes towards them. Next, the case is formulated according to the disturbance-ipseity model. The idea here is that psychotic symptoms represent a more basic alteration at the level of structure of self-experience and way of being in the world. Finally, the implications of phenomenological conception for evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment are emphasized.