阿凡达疗法，是科学家受阿凡达的“化身”技术启发，将虚拟现实用在抑郁症治疗上的一种新型技术。技术的关键是让患者把一个虚拟的自己当成自己的“化身”，让虚拟成人安慰自己，从而摆脱抑郁症的困扰。

　　Patients wore a virtual reality headset to see from the perspective of a life-size 'avatar' or virtual body. Seeing this virtual body in a mirror moving in the same way as their own body typically produces the illusion that this is their own body. This is called 'embodiment'.

　　患者头戴一个虚拟现实头盔后， 可看到一个与自己大小一样并动作同步的虚拟形象，会把这个形象看做自己的“化身”，以他/她的视角来看待外物。

　　While embodied in an adult avatar, participants were trained to express compassion towards a distressed virtual child.

　　在“化身”为成人阿凡达后，。研究人员让患者通过这个“化身”安慰一个虚拟出来的悲伤男孩，

　　As they talked to the child it appeared to gradually stop crying and respond positively to the compassion.

　　在患者与这名男孩交谈后，男孩逐渐不再哭泣，对安慰作出积极回应。

　　After a few minutes the patients were embodied in the virtual child and saw the adult avatar deliver their own compassionate words and gestures to them.

　　几分钟后，研究人员让患者把这个虚拟男孩当做自己的“化身”，让虚拟成人安慰虚拟男孩。

　　This brief eight-minute scenario was repeated three times at weekly intervals, and patients were followed up a month later. Of the 15 participants, nine reported reduced depressive symptoms a month after the therapy.

　　这个过程持续8分钟，每星期重复3次。一个月后，9名患者症状减轻，其中4名显著减轻。

　　Virtual reality has also previously been used to treat psychological disorders including phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder, but this research focused on a new application for promoting emotional well-being.

　　虚拟现实技术此前已被用于治疗多种心理障碍，如恐惧症、创伤后应激障碍等，但此次研究聚焦于改善患者心理健康这一新领域。