Discussions about their objective truth or plausibility are not valuable. The experience is true and very vivid and has to be accepted as such. It is, however, helpful to clarify that others do not hear, see, smell, or feel what the patient is experiencing. This helps to identify it as a special experience of the patient whether he can or can not accept it as a symptom of the illness. At least everyone can agree that something is happening.
Hallucinations respond to a lessening of stress and an increase of antipsychotic medication.
Keeping busy is important as it provides helpful distraction. Encourage the patient to discuss when the hallucinations occur and what they say with his therapist. This can clarify the nature of the stress that tends to bring them on. Another useful strategy is to point out to the patient that he has some control over the hallucinations. Often, unconsciously, the patient has developed the habit of of listening for his voices, as if he were a passive recipient.