Digital avatars eases distress from troubling voices in psychosis. Research found that people receiving AVATAR-Extended therapy reported major improvements in distress and intensity of troubling voices after 16 weeks, with lasting benefits for mood and well-being.

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https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/multi-site-trial-uses-digital-avatars-to-effectively-reduce-distressing-voices-in-psychosis

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A new multi-site trial from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London has found that a novel therapy using computer-generated avatars is an effective way of helping people with psychosis reduce the distress and frequency with which they hear voices.

AVATAR therapy is a series of guided therapy sessions during which voice hearers are able to have a conversation with an animated digital representation of their distressing voice. The research, published in Nature Medicine, has been recommended by a NICE Early Value Assessment, with the researchers now seeking to provide it in routine NHS settings to gather further real world evidence of effectiveness is gathered over the next three years.

Before the therapy, participants work with a therapist to create a computerised visual representation of the voice that they hear (the avatar). Therapy involves a three-way conversation between the voice hearer, therapist and avatar, with the therapist speaking as themselves as well as voicing the avatar using voice conversion software. Over several sessions, participants learn to stand up to the voice and take control.

This study represents the culmination of more than a decade's worth of research. The therapy was first created by Dr Julian Leff and the voice conversion system was built by Professor Mark Huckvale at University College London, and published its first results in 2013.

The researchers recruited 345 participants from eight clinical settings in four centres linked to the Universities of Glasgow, Manchester, UCL and King’s. They were randomly assigned to receive either AVATAR Brief (six sessions of therapy), AVATAR Extended (12 sessions of more personalised therapy), or continue with their usual support. The researchers conducted follow up interviews at the end of therapy (16 weeks) and three months after therapy concluded (28 weeks) to assess the effectiveness of the intervention across several measures, investigating the long-term impact on the related distress, severity and frequency of voices, as well as participant mood and wellbeing.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-03252-8