Talking with Voices: AVATAR Therapy for Auditory Verbal Hallucinations

Auditory verbal hallucinations (‘voices’) are a common and often persistent distressing symptom of schizophrenia and other psychoses, being experienced by more than 70% of people suffering from these conditions. They are also often resistant to treatment with only a quarter of patients having a good response to antipsychotics even when given in combination with psychotherapy. AVATAR therapy is new and strikingly beneficial treatment for these voices. The basic approach was invented by Professor Julian Leff some 10 years ago with subsequent research and development led by myself and Professor Philippa Garety at King’s College London. The approach enables the patient to create a digital representation of their most dominant voice (the ‘avatar’) and to conduct a dialogue with this avatar, assisted and supported by the therapist. The experience is akin to a virtual conversation not unlike what we will be engaged in during this webinar. We have shown, though two robust clinical trials that the approach is highly effective in reducing the frequency and distress associated with voices, even stopping the voices altogether in a small number of patients. We hope to roll out this treatment in routine mental health services.