View in EDS HTML Full Text PDF Full Text

Using Virtual Reality Social Environments to Promote Outcomes' Generalization of AVATAR Therapy for Distressing Voices: A Case Study.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Using Virtual Reality Social Environments to Promote Outcomes' Generalization of AVATAR Therapy for Distressing Voices: A Case Study.
Authors: Rus‐Calafell, Mar (AUTHOR), Ehrbar, Nils (AUTHOR), Teismann, Tobias (AUTHOR), Schneider, Silvia (AUTHOR), Tas, Ekincan (AUTHOR), Schuster, Simon (AUTHOR), Edwards, Clementine (AUTHOR), Huckvale, Mark (AUTHOR), Craig, Thomas (AUTHOR), Garety, Philippa (AUTHOR), Ward, Thomas (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Clinical Psychology. Jun2025, Vol. 81 Issue 6, p516-525. 10p.
Subjects: Sense of agency, Virtual reality, Auditory hallucinations, Avatars (Virtual reality), Interpersonal relations
Abstract: AVATAR therapy (AT) works by facilitating a 'face‐to‐face' dialog between the person and a digital representation (avatar) of their persecutory voice. Although there is cumulative evidence of this way of working with voices, enhancing the therapeutic focus on improved confidence and a sense of control of the voices in social situations represents a promising way to boost the generalization of therapy gains into social contexts. This paper presents a descriptive clinical case example of AVATAR_VRSocial therapy, a new augmented version of AT incorporating immersive Virtual Reality to help the person deal better with their voices in daily situations. "Laura" is a woman who was hearing a very distressing, threatening voice. She felt anxious and distressed when anticipating hearing it and would engage in safety‐seeking behaviors to prevent hearing the voice. Laura was supported to stand up to her avatar and regain power over it by using assertive responses, both in active avatar dialog and when exposed to the avatar voice in VR scenarios, which turned into reduced distress when hearing the voice in her everyday life. Laura's dialog with her avatar evolved into a more explicit exploration of the meaning and the purpose of the voice in relation to previous trauma and personal relationships. The additional work in VR appeared to facilitate exposure to social situations while hearing the distressing voice, without performing seeking‐safety behaviors, and to allow for practicing strategies to reduce the voice's interference, which evolved from the dialogic sessions with the personalized avatar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Clinical Psychology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
Full text is not displayed to guests.
FullText Links:
  – Type: pdflink
Text:
  Availability: 1
Header DbId: pbh
DbLabel: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
An: 184927873
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Using Virtual Reality Social Environments to Promote Outcomes' Generalization of AVATAR Therapy for Distressing Voices: A Case Study.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Rus‐Calafell%2C+Mar%22">Rus‐Calafell, Mar</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ehrbar%2C+Nils%22">Ehrbar, Nils</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Teismann%2C+Tobias%22">Teismann, Tobias</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Schneider%2C+Silvia%22">Schneider, Silvia</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Tas%2C+Ekincan%22">Tas, Ekincan</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Schuster%2C+Simon%22">Schuster, Simon</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Edwards%2C+Clementine%22">Edwards, Clementine</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Huckvale%2C+Mark%22">Huckvale, Mark</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Craig%2C+Thomas%22">Craig, Thomas</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Garety%2C+Philippa%22">Garety, Philippa</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ward%2C+Thomas%22">Ward, Thomas</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Clinical+Psychology%22">Journal of Clinical Psychology</searchLink>. Jun2025, Vol. 81 Issue 6, p516-525. 10p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subjects
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sense+of+agency%22">Sense of agency</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Virtual+reality%22">Virtual reality</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Auditory+hallucinations%22">Auditory hallucinations</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Avatars+%28Virtual+reality%29%22">Avatars (Virtual reality)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Interpersonal+relations%22">Interpersonal relations</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: AVATAR therapy (AT) works by facilitating a 'face‐to‐face' dialog between the person and a digital representation (avatar) of their persecutory voice. Although there is cumulative evidence of this way of working with voices, enhancing the therapeutic focus on improved confidence and a sense of control of the voices in social situations represents a promising way to boost the generalization of therapy gains into social contexts. This paper presents a descriptive clinical case example of AVATAR_VRSocial therapy, a new augmented version of AT incorporating immersive Virtual Reality to help the person deal better with their voices in daily situations. "Laura" is a woman who was hearing a very distressing, threatening voice. She felt anxious and distressed when anticipating hearing it and would engage in safety‐seeking behaviors to prevent hearing the voice. Laura was supported to stand up to her avatar and regain power over it by using assertive responses, both in active avatar dialog and when exposed to the avatar voice in VR scenarios, which turned into reduced distress when hearing the voice in her everyday life. Laura's dialog with her avatar evolved into a more explicit exploration of the meaning and the purpose of the voice in relation to previous trauma and personal relationships. The additional work in VR appeared to facilitate exposure to social situations while hearing the distressing voice, without performing seeking‐safety behaviors, and to allow for practicing strategies to reduce the voice's interference, which evolved from the dialogic sessions with the personalized avatar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Clinical Psychology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=184927873
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1002/jclp.23785
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 10
        StartPage: 516
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Sense of agency
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Virtual reality
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Auditory hallucinations
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Avatars (Virtual reality)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Interpersonal relations
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Using Virtual Reality Social Environments to Promote Outcomes' Generalization of AVATAR Therapy for Distressing Voices: A Case Study.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Rus‐Calafell, Mar
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Ehrbar, Nils
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Teismann, Tobias
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Schneider, Silvia
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Tas, Ekincan
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Schuster, Simon
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Edwards, Clementine
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Huckvale, Mark
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Craig, Thomas
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Garety, Philippa
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Ward, Thomas
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 06
              Text: Jun2025
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 00219762
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 81
            – Type: issue
              Value: 6
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Journal of Clinical Psychology
              Type: main
ResultId 1