Other worlds: the examination of anomalous world experience (EAWE)

The Examination of Anomalous World Experience (EAWE) is a new, semi-structured interview designed to explore unusual experiences of the lived world, especially those that tend to be associated with the schizophrenia spectrum. It focuses on six basic domains of world experience: Space and objects, Time and events, Other persons, Language, Atmosphere, and Existential orientation. The EAWE may be used independently or alongside the Examination of Anomalous Self-Experience (EASE) for a more comprehensive assessment of transformation of both self and world in clinical and research contexts. Individual domains may also be used by investigators who wish to focus on a particular aspect of world-experience. This special issue includes an introduction to the EAWE, a brief reliability report, and several ancillary articles that provide theoretical and empirical context and background for the development of the EAWE. The EAWE itself contains administration guidelines, item descriptions, relevant examples, and an appendix listing all interview items and subtypes. The EAWE will be of interest to researchers and clinicians. It should facilitate the examination of key anomalies of lived-experience that have often seemed to defy empirical study or clinical assessment.