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How Virtual Reality is Helping Patients With Mental Health Conditions
Virtual reality is quickly moving from science fiction into the realm of nonfiction when it comes to mental health advancements.
New research in Psychiatry Research has found virtual reality, or VR, can clinically help patients with anxiety and depression, bringing new hope to people suffering with mental health conditions during this pandemic.
This is very exciting news for the skyrocketing number of Americans who began experiencing declining mental health during the pandemic, which keeps rising every year.
A survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Census Bureau last summer found the number of Americans with anxiety skyrocketed from 7% in 2019 to 40% in 2021. The same survey found 45% of Americans between the ages of 18 and are experiencing anxiety and depression.
Although medication is still the backbone of treatment for psychiatric disorders, VR is quickly becoming an emerging technology for treating autism spectrum disorders, phobia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and now paranoia.
The research published in Psychiatry Research found VR as a form of therapy helped patients battling paranoia, social anxiety, and even negative thoughts about themselves.
How VR is Helping Patients with Mental Health
We’re still in the early stages of VR as a form of mental health therapy, but the near future looks promising.
Digital companies are investing heavily in the next generation of virtual reality therapies. Among them is Kilo Health, which is developing prototypes of VR therapies to help with mental health and chronic illnesses.
VR therapies use a headset to immerse a person into a “virtual reality” where patients can explore, interact with objects and people, and confront their issues.
The technology enables therapists to guide patients through their mental health conditions in a safe and controlled environment. It also makes any therapeutic situation come alive rather than just having patients speak to a therapist about their fears, anxiety, or phobias.
The next VR game changer with mental health will take place when consumers can access this technology in the privacy of their own environment. Oculus is taking an early leadership position in this emerging therapeutic approach, but Samsung isn’t far behind.
Bridge Trek uses Oculus to help patients manage their anxiety and fears in the form of a video game. As a patient progresses through the game, challenges get harder and move the player or patient into more stressful situations. This is an early product, but I suspect we will begin to see a lot more gamification of therapy in 2022.
Samsung has also developed a VR app for people who fear public speaking. The app, called Fearless, positions the patient in front of large crowds, while assessing their fear levels via voice, speaking cadence, eye contact, and heart rate. The app gives feedback based on a person’s progress.
VR platforms are also being developed by companies to help therapists in their practices.
Applied VR by Curebase is a platform for medical health professionals to use with patients struggling with anxiety, stress, and pain management. More than 30,000 patients across 200 hospitals have already gone through that virtual program globally.
Psious is another therapy practice being used inside psychotherapists’ office. This VR is being used to help patients with 70 different types of stressful or anxiety driven situations to help patients work through their conditions. But this early VR adaption still faces obstacles for patients since they still must physically go into an office.
There are many more VR programs for mental health now available, and it will become a more competitive space in the coming years. And as patients begin to hear more of VR and become more comfortable with it, this new approach to mental health will become even more accepted by both practitioners and patients.
Kasparas Aleknavičius, MD, is a health futurist and head of medical affairs at Kilo Health.
The views expressed in Perspectives are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Behavioral Healthcare Executive, the Psychiatry & Behavioral Health Learning Network, or other Network authors. Perspectives entries are not medical advice.
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