Creative Facilitation Testimonial – AVATAR3 

AVATAR therapy is a novel approach to the treatment of auditory verbal hallucinations in which the client uses a specialist computer programme to create an avatar of the entity, human or non-human, which they believe is speaking to them. The therapist then encourages the client to stand up to the avatar, so that the voice becomes less abusive and persecutory.  

AVATAR therapy has been trialled in the UK with successful results. The AVATAR3 project seeks to establish proof-of-concept for delivery of AVATAR therapy by AI-powered conversational agents and test the feasibility and acceptability of adapted AVATAR therapy in two distinct Lower and Middle-Income Country settings: India and Ethiopia.

Here the AVATAR3 research team reflect on the use of creative facilitation in stakeholder workshops and project planning on behalf of the project team.    

Can you tell us about a time you engaged with the Creative Facilitation Unit?

To kick off the AVATAR3 study, we organised a Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) event in March 2025 to bring together a range of stakeholders and explore the ethical and societal questions involved in adapting AVATAR therapy to new cultural settings, including India and Ethopia.  We wanted to create an open space where people felt able to share ideas, be creative, and think critically about the work ahead. We were incredibly fortunate to have Mary Robson, Angela Woods and Ben Alderson-Day from the Discovery Research Platform for Medical Humanities working with us from the very beginning to co-design and deliver the event. 

We eventually landed on a two-day workshop in London, which Mary facilitated using participatory approaches drawn from Creative Facilitation. In the lead-up, we spent a lot of time planning with Mary and the Durham team – thinking through who needed to be in the room, the mix of disciplines we wanted represented, how the days should flow, the key discussion points, and how we would capture what was said. 

During the event, we used Clean Setup to help the group establish shared expectations, and Mary guided everyone through a mix of presentations, small-group activities, paired discussions, and individual reflections. She mapped ideas visually on a sticky wall and created an open space where participants could suggest and lead deeper conversations. 

Overall, the experience was outstanding – a real gold standard in terms of facilitation. The event felt clear, structured, and well-organised, which let participants really concentrate on the work. Creative facilitation encouraged participation and brought out a range of voices – not an easy feat for an event which included participants from different international settings, diverse experts with lived experience and interdisciplinary perspectives. Mary’s style and approach helped create a respectful, safe atmosphere. Feedback from international partners was that the methods and facilitation would be hugely influential in their future work, and that they could already imagine using aspects of the approach, for example in stakeholder engagement work across diverse communities.  

How have you used creative facilitation in the AVATAR project?

Building on what we learned from our experience of creative facilitation, we have continued to use creative tools and methods to collect, present, and reflect on information throughout the AVATAR3 adaptation process. We used Padlet to share the outcomes from the RRI event, and it has since become a helpful way to gather insights from international partners and present them back in a clear, accessible format. 

Creative facilitation really underscored the value of experimental, arts-based, equitable spaces – especially when working with people from different professional and cultural backgrounds. It highlighted why reducing hierarchy, encouraging fair participation, and capturing ideas openly and dynamically is so important. 

We’re now writing a paper about the event – not as a blueprint that others must follow, but as a resource for people doing RRI work who want structured, inclusive, and creative ways of engaging stakeholders. 

What were the benefits of using creative facilitation?

One of the biggest benefits of creative facilitation was how well it encouraged contributions from a wide range of voices and helped flatten the hierarchies that are so common in academic and research environments. This played a huge part in helping us meet our main goal: identifying the social and ethical issues at the heart of adapting AVATAR therapy. 

The process also gave us practical tools and templates for keeping dialogue structured, inclusive, and meaningful as the project continues. Importantly, it strengthened our core partnership values – especially equity and the central role of Experts by Experience (EbEs) – which really came to life through the facilitation methods used.

Were there any challenges? How did you resolve them? 

At the start of planning, we found it difficult to pin down the event’s objectives. We had a rough idea of what ‘success’ might look like, but nothing concrete. Through ongoing discussions with the Durham team, it became clear that we needed to define our success criteria early on to guide planning and keep everything aligned.

What role, if any, do you see for creative facilitation in your future work?

We’re planning to run another event – similar to the March 2025 RRI workshop – for a second AVATAR workstream focused on automating aspects of the therapy. Creative facilitation will again be central, helping us foster structured, inclusive, and imaginative engagement as we explore this next stage of the project.