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Command hallucinations, schizophrenia and sexual assaults

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2014

Gareth Jones ,
Phil Huckle  and
Amgad Tanaghow
Gareth Jones
Affiliation:
University of Wales College of Medicine, Department of Psychological Medicine, Whitchurch Hospital, Cardiff CF4 7XB, Wales
Phil Huckle
Affiliation:
Glanrhyd Hospital, Bridgend CF31 4LN, Wales
Amgad Tanaghow
Affiliation:
Sully Hospital, South Glamorgan, Wales
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Abstract

Command hallucinations have been implicated in some cases of physical assault by patients with schizophrenia. This paper is, to our knowledge, the first in the literature to describe sexual assault and this form of psychopathology.

A brief series of four young male patients with schizophrenia who attempted and, in one case, succeeded in sexually assaulting young women as a direct response to command type or imperative auditory hallucinations is described.

All four patients had limited or no sexual experience prior to the incidents described and their illness has attacked them at their “psychological Achilles heel”.

All four had lengthy in-patient admissions and proved quite resistant to conventional treatments.

We would suggest that command hallucinations need to be taken very seriously: some patients do as their voices command.

Keywords

Sexual assaultschizophreniacommand auditory hallucinations
Type
Clinical & Brief Reports
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 9 , Issue 1 , May 1992 , pp. 47 - 49
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

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