For those assigned to the simulation intervention, a
16-minute audio segment was played to simulate a credible
experience of auditory hallucinations (educational intervention).
The audio segment was extracted from a workshop,
Hearing Voices that are Distressing: A Training and
Simulated Experience, formulated by the National
Empowerment Center (Deegan, 1996). The materials were
developed under the direction of psychologist Dr. Patricia
Deegan in consultation with others who experience auditory
hallucinations. Both voice (e.g., repeated phrases,
whispering, laughing) and non-voice sounds (e.g., faint
rhythmic sound) are presented in these simulations. The
phrases contain derogatory material (e.g., ‘‘you suck,’’
‘‘loser’’) and benevolent/neutral material (e.g., ‘‘you are the
one,’’ ‘‘it will be okay’’). Furthermore, the material
attempts to simulate command (e.g., ‘‘stop it’’) and paranoid
(e.g., ‘‘everyone is laughing at you’’) hallucinations. A
representative 16-minute sub-sample (of the entire
42-minute simulation) was played at a volume to approximate
conversation level (around 60 decibels as calibrated
by a sound level meter).