An Exploratory Study of the Potential of Online Counseling for University Students by a Human-Operated Avatar Counselor

• Published in: Healthcare (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 13; p. 1287
• Main Authors: Kiuchi, Keita, Umehara, Hidehiro, Irizawa, Koushi, Kang, Xin, Nakataki, Masahito, Yoshida, Minoru, Numata, Shusuke, Matsumoto, Kazuyuki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.07.2024
• Subjects: Autism; avatar counseling; Avatars (Computer graphics); Chronic illnesses; College students; communication; Counseling; digital mental health; Emotions; empathy; Evaluation; Gender; Generalized anxiety disorder; Health aspects; human-operated avatars; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mental health; Methods; Personality; Psychiatric counseling; Psychological aspects; Psychotherapy; Robots; Suicidal behavior; Suicidal ideation; Suicides & suicide attempts; Technology application; University students; Verbal communication; Video teleconferencing; Virtual reality; Japan; university students; empathy; anthropomorphism; avatar counseling; animacy; digital mental health; communication; human-operated avatars; likeability; perceived intelligence
• ISSN: 2227-9032; 2227-9032
• DOI: 10.3390/healthcare12131287

Recently, the use of digital technologies, such as avatars and virtual reality, has been increasingly explored to address university students' mental health issues. However, there is limited research on the advantages and disadvantages of counselors using avatars in online video counseling. Herein, 25 university students were enrolled in a pilot online counseling session with a human counselor-controlled avatar, and asked about their emotional experiences and impressions of the avatar and to provide qualitative feedback on their communication experience. Positive emotions during the session were associated with impressions of the avatar's intelligence and likeability. The anthropomorphism, animacy, likeability, and intelligent impressions of the avatar were interrelated, indicating that the avatar's smile and the counselor's expertise in empathy and approval may have contributed to these impressions. However, no associations were observed between participant experiences and their prior communication with avatars, or between participant experiences and their gender or the perceived gender of the avatar. Accordingly, recommendations for future practice and research are provided. Accumulating practical and empirical findings on the effectiveness of human-operated avatar counselors is crucial for addressing university students' mental health issues.