
Dr Thomas Ward
AVATAR2 Therapy Coordinator / Research Clinical Psychologist
Research interests
- Psychology
Biography
Dr Thomas Ward is a Research Clinical Psychologist working at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London. He is the Therapy Lead for the AVATAR therapy team (a digital relational intervention for distressing voices) and the SlowMo therapy team (a digital blended therapy for paranoia) and has played a key role in recent randomised trials of both approaches. He has previously coordinated a large-scale study investigating the psychosis continuum by comparing individuals with persistent psychotic experiences with and without a ‘need for care’ (the UNIQUE study; led by Dr Emmanuelle Peters). His research interests include a) elucidating the social and cognitive pathways involved in the development of psychosis b) understanding the role of thinking, reasoning and response style in driving clinical distress c) developing and evaluating novel therapeutic approaches (including the application of digital technology).
Research
The Avatar Project
The AVATAR Project was a clinical research trial of an innovative new therapeutic treatment designed to help people suffering from distressing voices.
Project status: Completed

AVATAR2
AVATAR therapy offers a new approach to working with distressing voices (auditory hallucinations), using digital technology to allow ‘face-to-face’ dialogue between the voice-hearer and a computerised representation of their voice (the avatar). We are now taking this forward in the AVATAR2 trial.
Status not set
UNIQUE Research Group
UNIQUE Research group carries out a range of sudies involving people who experience persistent, full-blown psychotic experiences but are not in need of care
Status not set
IoPPN Virtual Reality Research Lab
The IoPPN Virtual Reality Research Lab (VR Lab) is led by Dr Lucia Valmaggia and is a world-leading multidisciplinary group dedicated to VR based research, assessment and treatments for mental health.
Status not setNews
£1.3 million Wellcome funding awarded to SlowMo
SlowMo, an inclusive, digitally supported therapy for paranoia, has been awarded £1.3 million funding by Wellcome to scale up in three NHS Trusts.

Research
The Avatar Project
The AVATAR Project was a clinical research trial of an innovative new therapeutic treatment designed to help people suffering from distressing voices.
Project status: Completed

AVATAR2
AVATAR therapy offers a new approach to working with distressing voices (auditory hallucinations), using digital technology to allow ‘face-to-face’ dialogue between the voice-hearer and a computerised representation of their voice (the avatar). We are now taking this forward in the AVATAR2 trial.
Status not set
UNIQUE Research Group
UNIQUE Research group carries out a range of sudies involving people who experience persistent, full-blown psychotic experiences but are not in need of care
Status not set
IoPPN Virtual Reality Research Lab
The IoPPN Virtual Reality Research Lab (VR Lab) is led by Dr Lucia Valmaggia and is a world-leading multidisciplinary group dedicated to VR based research, assessment and treatments for mental health.
Status not setNews
£1.3 million Wellcome funding awarded to SlowMo
SlowMo, an inclusive, digitally supported therapy for paranoia, has been awarded £1.3 million funding by Wellcome to scale up in three NHS Trusts.
