A client with schizophrenia says, “The voices are telling me to run.” What is the most therapeutic response?

Question

Accepted Answer

B. “I don’t hear voices, but I understand this is frightening. What are the voices saying?” — Acknowledge the client’s experience without validating the hallucination, assess for command hallucinations and safety, and offer support and reality-based communication.

Answer

A. “Those voices aren’t real; stop talking about them.”

Answer

C. “Ignore the voices and they’ll go away.”

Answer

D. “You’re making that up.”