How Virtual Reality Technology Impacts Mental Health and Therapy
When you hear about VR, you might immediately think of gaming and entertainment but that’s not always the case, especially with today’s rapid development. VR is supplying the mental health and therapy industry with an arsenal of impactful tools and experiences to help achieve challenging goals.
The interactive and immersive nature of VR offers unique alternatives for interventions, exposure therapy, relaxation and more. 3D asset management platforms like echo3D empower this type of technology by offering a faster and more scalable way to deliver 3D content to the devices.
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Creates Safe and Controlled Environments
One major advantage of virtual reality in mental health therapy is creating safe and controlled environments for therapeutic applications. 3D simulations allow patients to confront and navigate anxiety-inducing situations safely whether it’s public speaking or other phobias. By gradually exposing patients to their fears, patients are desensitized to the harmful triggers which lowers their anxious response to the stimulus. Controlled exposure can be a powerful tool for addressing different mental disorders including social anxiety, agoraphobia, PTSD and other various phobias.
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Enhances Emotional Regulation
VR experiences are actually quite popular because they induce relaxation, mindfulness and stress reduction. These experiences are designed with a users physiology in mind and every contribution is intended to create a sense of peace and wellbeing whether it’s deep breathing, meditation or visualization. These components can help users focus their attention, eliminate intrusive thoughts, lessen depression and create a sense of peace and grounding. In meditative VR experiences that require users to close their eyes, volumetric sound is often used to create deeper immersion for guided experiences which has a positive impact on stress and anxiety.
Enables Immersive Therapy for PTSD and Trauma
PTSD and trauma are difficult and complicated conditions that require long term care and guidance. They can significantly impact a person’s well-being and quality of life, and it often a critical condition. VR offers a unique way to approach trauma-informed therapy by recreating traumatic events and their conditions in a controlled and gradual way. Therapists can use this technology to trigger their patients in a safe and controlled environment where they are then guiding their patients through the experience in a way that is empowering to the patients. This has been very effective in treating PTSD by reducing symptom severity and response to triggering stimuli. Patients that have used VR for PTSD and traumatic therapy can successfully regain a sense of control over their traumatic memories.
Increases Access to Therapy
Because VR technology is more accessible than a singular office visit with a therapist, it has the ability to impact more people. Access to mental health services is a constant challenge for patients that desperately need the help. Many patients face obstacles like distance, financial constraints and even negative stigmas that prevent them from seeking the mental health support they need. VR-based therapy can bridge this gap by offering cost-effective and accessible alternatives. While many therapists offer VR as part of a treatment plan, it can also be the initial experience to entice users to seek out additional professional mental health services. VR access allows users to freely explore what types of therapy are available to them and doesn’t require passing through the barrier of referrals or general overwhelm of finding a qualified practitioner.
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Provides Elevated Training and Professional Development
VR is a fantastic tool for training other mental health professionals. VR simulations allow trainees to practice in different environments and scenarios. Training live with patients is challenging due to privacy concerns, limited exposure and the overall delicate nature of mental health treatment. Trainees can learn invaluable skills through roleplaying, tele-communication, two-way feedback and AI-assisted training so they can enter the field or learn more skills to better serve their patients in a shorter amount of time than they would organically learn in the field.
VR has amazing potential to transform the landscape and approach of mental health treatment. As technology continues to change and research advances, VR-based therapy using 3D environments will likely expand. VR is supportive of the future of accessible mental health care.
echo3D (www.echo3D.com) is a 3D asset management platform for developers & companies to store, secure, and share 3D content in real-time across their organization and beyond
