Hallucinations in Older Adults: A Practical Review

Johanna C Badcock; Frank Larøi; Karina Kamp; India Kelsall-Foreman; Romola S Bucks; Michael Weinborn; Marieke Begemann; John-Paul Taylor; Daniel Collerton; John T O'Brien; Mohamad El Haj; Dominic Ffytche; Iris E Sommer

doi:10.1093/schbul/sbaa073

Hallucinations in Older Adults: A Practical Review

Schizophr Bull. 2020 Dec 1;46(6):1382-1395. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbaa073.

Authors

Johanna C Badcock^{1

2}, Frank Larøi^{3

4

5}, Karina Kamp⁶, India Kelsall-Foreman¹, Romola S Bucks¹, Michael Weinborn¹, Marieke Begemann⁷, John-Paul Taylor⁸, Daniel Collerton⁸, John T O'Brien⁹, Mohamad El Haj¹⁰, Dominic Ffytche¹¹, Iris E Sommer¹²

Affiliations

¹ School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
² Perth Voices Clinic, Murdoch, Australia.
³ Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
⁴ Psychology and Neuroscience of Cognition Research Unit, University of Liege, Liege, Belgium.
⁵ Norwegian Centre of Excellence for Mental Disorders Research, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
⁶ Department of Psychology and Behavioural Science, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.
⁷ Department of Biomedical Sciences of Cells and Systems, University Medical Center, Rijks Universiteit Groningen (RUG), Groningen, The Netherlands.
⁸ Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
⁹ Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
¹⁰ Laboratoire de Psychologie des Pays de la Loire (LPPL-EA 4638), Nantes Université, Univ Angers, Nantes, France.
¹¹ Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College, London, UK.
¹² Rijks Universiteit Groningen (RUG), Department of Biomedical Sciences of Cells and Systems, University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands.

Abstract

Older adults experience hallucinations in a variety of social, physical, and mental health contexts. Not everyone is open about these experiences, as hallucinations are surrounded with stigma. Hence, hallucinatory experiences in older individuals are often under-recognized. They are also commonly misunderstood by service providers, suggesting that there is significant scope for improvement in the training and practice of professionals working with this age group. The aim of the present article is to increase knowledge about hallucinations in older adults and provide a practical resource for the health and aged-care workforce. Specifically, we provide a concise narrative review and critique of (1) workforce competency and training issues, (2) assessment tools, and (3) current treatments and management guidelines. We conclude with a brief summary including suggestions for service and training providers and future research.

Keywords: aged-care; assessment; hallucinations; older adults; training; treatment.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Aged
Aging*
Hallucinations / diagnosis*
Hallucinations / therapy*
Humans