Hallucinations and delusions are collectively referred to as psychosis.
Visual hallucinations are the most common type of hallucination. In a visual hallucination, someone sees things that are not actually there. There can also be auditory and olfactory hallucinations. Often hallucinations are not alarming to the person experiencing them.
Delusions are when there is an alternative view of reality: an entire irrational story is created. Paranoia is a common type of delusion. Capgras delusions are a specific type of delusion where the person believes that a spouse, adult child, or other family member has been replaced by an imposter.
Short Overviews
Hallucinations
Published by Alzheimer’s Association
This web page has two sections, one on understanding hallucinations and the other on coping strategies. Linked pages explain brain function and changes, non-drug approaches to behavior management and medications for behavioral symptoms.
Hallucinations and Delusions in Parkinson's
Published by Parkinson Canada, 2024
This four-page fact sheet defines hallucinations and delusions and outlines when and how your medical team can help. It also includes strategies for how caregivers should respond to hallucinations and delusions.
Hallucinations and Delusions in Parkinson's
Published by Parkinson’s UK, 2024
This 13-page information sheet has a very good description of how hallucinations and delusions can manifest, as well as possible causes and what can exacerbate them, ways to manage them at home and with the help of your medical team, and caregiver tips.
Parkinson’s Disease Psychosis: A Little-Known Symptom of PD
By Anne-Marie Botek. Published by Aging Care
This webpage explains the prevalence, causes and symptoms, treatment options of PD psychosis. More useful to caregivers are sections on potential triggers of psychotic episodes and what caregivers can do about PD psychosis.
Psychosis in PD (PDP)
By Maria De León, MD. Published by defeatparkinsons.com, February 7, 2017
Psychosis causes high levels of caregiver burden and stress. It leads to significant disability and poor quality of life. The risk of developing psychosis increases with disease duration. Dr. De León lists many causes of underlying neuropsychiatric disturbances possible in PD, and causes of psychosis common to the elderly.
Psychosis: A Mind Guide to Parkinson’s
By Linda Minton, Kate Perepezko, and Gregory Pontone, MD. Published by Parkinson's Foundation, 2022
This 40-page booklet is a thorough guide to all aspects of Parkinson’s psychosis, including symptoms, causes, treatment options, coping strategies for both the family and person experiencing the psychosis, and a chapter on tips for caregivers. Can be downloaded or ordered via the Parkinson's Foundation online store.
Two Web Resources on Hallucinations
Published by Parkinson's Foundation
Hallucinations/Delusions
This webpage provides information on the differences between hallucinations, delusions, delirium, and dementia. It addresses risk factors, causes and treatment options for each as well as some coping strategies for family members and care partners when dealing with one or more disorder. Also included is a four-minute video, which is a firsthand account by a caregiver about her husband's development of hallucinations and how the two of them manage day-to-day.
Hallucinations and Delusions in Parkinson’s Disease
This 2018 blog post is based on the latest research and a Parkinson’s Foundation Expert Briefing about hallucinations and delusions in Parkinson’s. After an explanation of what hallucinations and delusions are, there are tips for what to do, how to minimize these behaviors through lifestyle changes, and medication treatment options.
Patients Addressing Hallucinations
Hallucinations and Parkinson’s with Dr. Friedman
By Parkinson’s Foundation, December 13, 2017
This 16-minute video is a series of interviews with Parkinson’s patients who experience hallucinations, interspersed with comments by movement disorder specialist Dr. Joseph Friedman about the causes of hallucinations in Parkinson’s disease, communicating with your neurologist, and medication adjustments to diminish hallucinations.
Talks by Specialists
Cognition and Psychosis
By PMD Alliance, June 17, 2020
In this 48-minute webinar, geriatric psychiatrist Daniel Weintraub, MD, provides an overview of the neuropsychiatric and cognitive symptoms that can occur in PD, as well as how those symptoms can be managed.
Hallucinations and REM Sleep Disorders in Parkinson's Disease
By Houston Area Parkinson Society, November 14, 2020
In this one-hour talk by neurologist Joohi Jimenez-Shahed, MD, about two hours into the Thrive: HAPS 2020 Caregiver Conference, she delves into what REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is and is not, and the distinctions between hallucinations, delusions, and delirium. Management options for RBD and hallucinations are included.
Living with and Managing Parkinson's Disease Psychosis (Hallucinations and Delusions)
By Davis Phinney Foundation, October 24, 2022
In this 53-minute webinar, neuro-psychiatrist Dylan Wint, MD, shares his expertise on Parkinson's disease psychosis, hallucinations and delusions, including how to help someone experiencing a delusion or hallucination, when to seek help, simple versus complex hallucinations, whether there is a connection between REM Sleep Disorder and hallucinations, treatment options, and more.
Parkinson's Disease Psychosis: The What, When, Why, and How
By Davis Phinney Foundation, August 27, 2020
In this one-hour talk, movement disorder specialist Christopher Goetz, MD, focuses on hallucinations and spends a little time on delusions.
Parkinson’s Psychosis: Hallucinations and Delusions
By Parkinson Canada, January 15, 2025
In this one-hour webinar, geriatrician Alison Dixon, MD, discusses causes, triggers and management & communication strategies for hallucinations and delusions, as well as how Parkinson’s psychosis impacts the mental health of both the person with Parkinson’s and their care partner. Listeners also hear from a woman who shares the challenges of caring for two parents living with Parkinson’s, including her mother’s episodes of delusions, and the management strategies she uses to stay safe and connected as a family.
Last updated October 2025 by Stanford Parkinson's Community Outreach.