Hearing Voices

Simon McCarthy-Jones is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Macquarie University's Centre for Cognitive Science, in Sydney, Australia.

'The book brings together contributions from biological and psychological research, and more originally, it documents the history of hearing voices and the meaning of such experiences. Dr McCarthy-Jones's book is grounded in scientific research and comprehensively researched historical material. The book is a real feast, and Dr McCarthy-Jones charms us with his lively narrative. The book will appeal to modern 'voice-hearers', clinicians, and scholars of auditory hallucinations.' Flavie Waters, University of Western Australia

• Introduction; Part I. A History of Hearing Voices: 1. From Ancient Mesopotamia to the pre-Reformation world; 2. Political voices: religion, medicine and hearing voices; 3. From the birth of psychiatry to the present day; Part II. The Phenomenology and Lived Experience of Hearing Voices: 4. The phenomenology of hearing voices in people with psychiatric diagnoses; 5. The lived experience of hearing voices in individuals diagnosed with a psychotic disorder: or, the journey from patient to non-patient; 6. Beyond disorder: religious and cross-cultural perspectives; 7. The phenomenology of hearing voices in people without psychiatric diagnoses; Part III. The Causes of Hearing Voices: 8. Neuroscience and hearing voices: it's the brain, stupid?; 9. Neuropsychological models I: inner speech; 10. Neuropsychological models II: memory and hypervigilance; 11. The wound is peopled: from world to brain and back again; Part IV. The Meanings of Hearing Voices: 12. The struggle for meanings; Conclusion: moving towards new models of hearing voices; Appendix A: AVHs and antipsychotic medication; References; Index.