Visual hallucinations in psychosis.

The Dutch version of the Visual Hallucination Questionnaire was used to assess lifetime visual hallucinations (VH) characteristics in 27 patients with psychosis. Our results confirmed substantial variance in many VH characteristics. Most patients reported multiple VH types. Complex VH were most prevalent, mainly consisting of people and animals, followed by simple, then geometric VH. Few patients experienced only simple VH. The VH generally had features resembling real perceptions. Insight was usually reduced. VH ranged from 'appropriate' and neutral to peculiar and delusion-associated. VH accompanied by fright and sound seem to be related to experiencing complex or multiple types of VH.