Practice

A patient describes a vivid crawling sensation under her skin but is clear she does not believe real insects are present. Why should the sensation still be documented as a tactile hallucination?

• Because a false sensation and any accompanying belief about its cause are separate phenomena, and the sensation itself, on its own, meets the definition of a tactile hallucination regardless of whether a delusional belief is also present
• Because all sensory complaints should be assumed psychiatric until proven otherwise
• Because she is female
• Because it happened more than once

References

• Casey, P. & Kelly, B. (2019). Fish's Clinical Psychopathology, 4th ed. Ch. 3, 'Disorders of Perception'.