Research
Giving the voice a face: Virtual avatars may ease distress in schizophrenia
The Brief
- Researchers at Semmelweis University studied a virtual reality treatment for patients with schizophrenia.
- Patients meet, in VR, an avatar representing the voice they hear, which is often threatening or abusive.
- The study was published in Acta Psychologica, and the reported summary says the treatment was associated with reduced distress, though the source text is cut off before details.
Why it matters
It suggests a VR-based approach that externalises hallucinated voices could be an additional tool for reducing distress in schizophrenia, though this is a single study reported only in a short summary.
Who’s affected
- clinicians and researchers in psychiatry and mental health
- patients with schizophrenia and their carers
- #schizophrenia
- #virtual reality
- #mental health
- #avatars
- #psychiatry
Patients with schizophrenia can come face to face in virtual reality with an avatar representing the voice they hear, which is often threatening or abusive. According to a study by researchers at Semmelweis University, published in Acta Psychologica, the treatment was associated…