There has been a large growth in research on AVHs in recent decades dominated by neurobiological and neuroimaging studies. Future research should include focus on phenomenological aspects and AVHs change over the course of developing illness. Integration between branches of enquiry is needed, and the risk is that without this, models are proposed and investigated that bear scant relevance to the symptom itself.

BackgroundIn dimensional understanding of psychosis, auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) are unitary phenomena present on a continuum from non-clinical voice hearing to severe mental illness. There is mixed evidence for this approach and a relative absence of research into subjective experience of AVH in early psychosis.AimsTo conduct primary research into the nature of subjective experience of AVH in first-episode psychosis.MethodA phenomenological study using diary and photo-elicitation qualitative techniques investigating the subjective experience of AVH in 25 young people with first-episode psychosis.ResultsAVH are characterised by: (a) entity, as though from a living being with complex social interchange; and (b) control, exerting authority with ability to influence. AVH are also received with passivity, often accompanied by sensation in other modalities.ConclusionsA modern detailed phenomenological investigation, without presupposition, gives results that echo known descriptive psychopathology. However, novel findings also emerge that may be features of AVH in psychosis not currently captured with standardised measures.Declaration of interestNone.Copyright and usage© The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2016. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) licence.