AVATAR Therapy for Distressing Voices: A Comprehensive Account of Therapeutic Targets

Thomas Ward; Mar Rus-Calafell; Zeyana Ramadhan; Olga Soumelidou; Miriam Fornells-Ambrojo; Philippa Garety; Tom K J Craig

doi:10.1093/schbul/sbaa061

AVATAR Therapy for Distressing Voices: A Comprehensive Account of Therapeutic Targets

Schizophr Bull. 2020 Sep 21;46(5):1038-1044. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbaa061.

Authors

Thomas Ward^{1

2}, Mar Rus-Calafell^{3

4}, Zeyana Ramadhan², Olga Soumelidou², Miriam Fornells-Ambrojo⁵, Philippa Garety^{1

2}, Tom K J Craig⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
² South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
³ Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
⁴ Department of Health Service and Population Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
⁵ Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK.

Abstract

AVATAR therapy represents an effective new way of working with distressing voices based on face-to-face dialogue between the person and a digital representation (avatar) of their persecutory voice. To date, there has been no complete account of AVATAR therapy delivery. This article presents, for the first time, the full range of therapeutic targets along with information on acceptability and potential side effects. Interest in the approach is growing rapidly and this report acts as a necessary touchstone for future development.

Keywords: auditory hallucinations; cognitive models; digital health; relational therapy; voices.

Abstract

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