http://www.uclb.com/news-and-events/news-post/avatar-therapy-helps-silence-voices-in-schizophrenia
Researchers at University College London and the Wellcome Trust have developed an avatar based system to enable those suffering from schizophrenia to control the voice of hallucinations.
The patient creates a computer-based avatar, choosing the face and voice of the entity they believe is talking to them. The system then synchronizes the avatar’s lips with its speech, enabling a therapist to speak to the patient through the avatar in real time. The therapist encourages the patient to oppose the voice and attempts to help them take control of their hallucinations.
Professor Julian Leff developed the therapy and is leading the project. He said: “Even though patients interact with the avatar as though it was a real person, because they have created it, they know that it cannot harm them, as opposed to the voices, which often threaten to kill or harm them and their family. As a result the therapy helps patients gain the confidence and courage to confront the avatar, and their persecutor. We record every therapy session on MP3 so that the patient essentially has a therapist in their pocket which they can listen to at any time when harassed by the voices. We’ve found that this helps them to recognize that the voices originate within their own mind and reinforces their control over the hallucinations.”
Leave a Reply