Avatar-based Therapy Within Prison Settings: Pilot Evaluation

This research is evaluation of a newly developed, avatar based virtual reality therapy, as an addition to the therapeutic programme, within a therapeutic community prison in the UK. The participants had six group sessions facilitated by a counsellor. The aim of the project was to investigate whether this approach would improve mental health outcomes for the prisoners, interpersonal relationships within the prison and facilitate the achievement of personal goals for the prisoners. The sample size(n = 4) was insufficient to make firm conclusions about the mental health outcomes. However, the qualitative analysis showed a strong engagement with the programme in addressing personal issues, the development of insight and empathy, and improvements in relationships within the participants and with the counselor. Further research with a larger sample is needed to establish efficacy of this type of therapy with the prison population.

The project was completed in 2014.

Funded by: NHS England’s Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) Healthcare

Total budget: £150 000

Principal and Co-investigators: Dr Biljana van Rijn, prof. Mick Cooper