Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41084025›Full record

ArticleTrials2025

Multisite randomised controlled trial of a novel dialogical therapy in comparison to treatment as usual in adults with distressing and persistent auditory hallucinations: study protocol for the Talking With Voices (TWV-II) trial.

Eleanor Longden, Verity Bell, Emmeline Joyce, Samantha Bowe, Alison Branitsky, Dirk Corstens, Rob Dudley, Richard Emsley, Daniel Freeman, Callum Glen and 5 more

Abstract readClinical Trial Protocol
In one paragraph

Article in Trials, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Eleanor LongdenDivision of Psychology and Mental Health; School of Health Sciences: Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK. eleanor.longden@manchester.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3046-9697
Verity BellThe Psychosis Research Unit, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK.
Emmeline JoyceThe Psychosis Research Unit, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK.
Samantha BoweThe Psychosis Research Unit, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK.
Alison BranitskyDivision of Psychology and Mental Health; School of Health Sciences: Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Dirk CorstensGGZ Noord-Holland Noord, Texel/Den Helder, The Netherlands.
Rob DudleyGateshead Early Intervention in Psychosis Service, Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, Gateshead, UK.
Richard EmsleyKing's Clinical Trials Unit, King's College London, London, UK.
Daniel FreemanDepartment of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Callum GlenDepartment of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Amy HardyDepartment of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Wendy JonesThe Psychosis Research Unit, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK.
Melissa PyleThe Psychosis Research Unit, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK.
Bryony SheavesDepartment of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Anthony P MorrisonDivision of Psychology and Mental Health; School of Health Sciences: Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.

Funding

Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation Programme NIHR151223
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHearing voices ("auditory hallucinations") is associated with numerous negative outcomes, including hospitalisation, suicidality, and impaired functioning. Currently, the main treatment approaches are antipsychotic medication and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), yet both have variable effectiveness and are often unavailable to those without a schizophrenia diagnosis. Furthermore, CBT does not consistently address the role of trauma in voice onset and maintenance. In response to these unmet needs, a feasibility/acceptability trial of a new intervention, Talking With Voices (TWV), was conducted. TWV involves a therapist speaking to the voice(s) while the client repeats its response verbatim, with the aim of promoting recovery and reducing voice-related distress. This prior pilot study (N = 50) found excellent feasibility/acceptability data amongst participants with schizophrenia, and signals of positive change in measures of personal recovery and voice relating. The next step is to evaluate treatment mechanisms and clinical efficacy of TWV in a transdiagnostic population.

methodsWe aim to establish TWV's clinical efficacy in a multisite RCT for adults with serious mental health problems (SMHP) who hear persistent, distressing voices, and to assess whether improved measures of personal recovery and negative voice impact are mediated via key psychological mechanisms (improved relating to, and beliefs about, voices; and reductions in dissociation and negative self-beliefs). We aim to recruit 296 participants from psychiatric services across 4 UK sites (Manchester, London, Newcastle, and Oxford) who will be randomised to either treatment (TWV + treatment as usual [TAU]) or control (TAU only). The primary outcome is total score on the Questionnaire About the Process of Recovery. Secondary outcomes include overall voice severity and other relevant dimensions of voices and trauma sequalae, with mediational and outcome variables collected at baseline, 8 months (post-treatment), and 14 months. DISCUSSION: The study will investigate the clinical efficacy of a novel intervention deliverable within healthcare services, including hypothesised mechanisms of change to identify key psychological targets for ameliorating distressing voices in a transdiagnostic population. Potential benefits include improving the effectiveness and accessibility of evidence-based psychosocial interventions for SMHP.

trial registrationISRCTN, ISRCTN15897915. Registered 13 July 2023.

Indexed as

HallucinationsAdultFeasibility StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMulticenter Studies as TopicPsychological DistressRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicSchizophreniaTime FactorsTreatment OutcomeAuditory hallucinationsPsychosocial interventionRandomised controlled trialSerious mental health problemsTrauma

Identifiers

PMID41084025
PMCPMC12519869

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.