Hearing Voices

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

'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