One of the problems that mental health professionals often encounter is the lack of tools available to them. In many cases they are limited to conversation, the application of techniques or evaluations. Fortunately, more and more tools are appearing that help both the therapist and the patient.

We live in a constantly changing environment and the industrial revolution has provided us with new technologies that facilitate the work of psychologists , carrying out more effective treatments, thus building patient loyalty and providing extra value in their practices.

One of the tools that aims to be the most disruptive in the health field is Virtual Reality. Did you know that more and more psychologists are starting to apply Virtual Reality (VR) in their therapies ?

What is Virtual Reality and how to use it in therapy

But… what exactly is Virtual Reality? It is an environment generated by computers through 3D graphics, totally immersive, interactive, secure, non-invasive and generates a sense of presence.

In the health field, there is the Psious platform that is designed by and for psychologists . This company works with a VR kit: glasses, a smartphone, a computer with which the therapist configures the variables and a biofeedback sensor to control the patient’s physiological response.

With this kit you can reproduce the stimulus settings you think are relevant and change the variables to suit the patient’s needs: add more or fewer people, control what virtual people around them are doing, the weather, and much more.

You can also repeat certain events as many times as you like (for example, the take-off or landing of the plane) and set up exhibition hierarchies, intervention stages… All this without leaving the consultation.

Moreover, it is a technology with more than 20 years of scientific studies behind it. The first publication on Virtual Reality in the field of psychology was made in 1985.

Currently, Psious is being used in renowned centres such as Vall d’Hebron Hospital, St Joan de Déu Hospital, Clínic Hospital or Stanford University, among others.

Advantages of Virtual Reality in mental health

There are many advantages to this type of technology, especially the one designed by Psious. Among the most relevant are the following.

1. More effective than in vivo therapy

The patient does not need to go through the whole process of physical exposure , which also saves time and money. It avoids travelling by plane, by subway, climbing a skyscraper…

2. Facilitates self-training and overlearning

The user no longer expects events to take place in real life, he can now reproduce them as many times as he wants, as many times as he needs and as necessary. The person to be treated has an active and participating role , thus encouraging re-learning and behaviour modification.

3. The psychologist has full control over the parameters

You can control the duration of therapy, the weather, the time of day, number of people, interactions with people or animals, etc. In the scenes of eating disorders you can choose for example the menu the user is eating, or in the one of fear of flying the level of turbulence.

4. No imagination skills required

Virtual reality does not require the high imaginative skills that are usually needed in exposure therapy.

5. Personalized treatment

With Virtual Reality there is the ability to adapt the scene to the needs of each patient thanks to the variable configuration and the control panel. In addition the therapist sees at all times what the patient is seeing , thus facilitating the detection of the most relevant stimuli.

Customized display hierarchies can also be designed, graduating each step in detail.

6. Repeat any step of the process at any time

The patient can practice the scenes as many times as necessary. For example, getting into an elevator, drawing blood, performing a test, or having a talk in a bar.

7. Ensures user privacy and security

If the patient feels uncomfortable at any time, it is as easy as removing the glasses to take them back to a safe place. In addition, all Psious environments include the option of using instant relaxation and mindfulness sessions.

8. Accessibility

This method is much easier than taking patients to any situation that makes them feel anxious or scared without leaving your office, thus saving time and money on travel or on buying transportation tickets like the airplane.

9. Patient monitoring and automatic reporting

You can save the details of each session, monitor the physiological response of the patient using the biofeedback sensors and see the evolution in graphs .

10. Faster treatment

According to several studies, this treatment is more effective and immersive , thus reducing the rate of patients who abandon the practice.

Are there any risks to be considered?

This is a very safe tool . Only 0.025% of people may experience seizures, nausea or disorientation. Furthermore, these types of adverse reactions are more common in epileptic patients, so they should not use this tool or if they do, they should be aware of the risk involved.

To keep these risks to a minimum, Psious has controlled the use of flashing lights when designing environments.

Therapies and techniques to be used

Besides all the advantages we have seen, the good thing about Virtual Reality is the multitude of cases in which it can be used . Specifically, Psious offers the option of working with various disorders (anxiety, specific phobias, eating disorders, PTSD, OCD, ADHD, etc.), as well as being able to use it to carry out Mindfulness sessions, EMDR, relaxation techniques or pain distraction.

And best of all, it can be used as a preliminary step to the diagnosis of mental disorders. Studies by Emory University in Atlanta and the Alzheimer’s Society in the UK have shown that it can be used to diagnose PTSD and Alzheimer’s, but there are also other publications that have shown positive results for ADHD, anxiety, traumatic brain injury or vertigo.

To learn more download the eBook

In this electronic document, you will find out more about…

  • Virtual Reality and how to use it in clinical psychology .
  • The positive and negative points of its use.
  • How is a session intervention dynamic.
  • Advice according to the technique used : Exposure therapy, Systematic desensitization, Activation control techniques, Cognitive restructuring, Mindfulness.
  • What to say to the patient when he asks…
  • Bibliography of interest.

Bibliographic references:

  • Gutiérrez, J (2002): Aplicaciones de la realidad virtual en psicología Clínica.
  • Aula médica de psiquiatría, 4(2), 92-126.
  • Laura Louchska y otros (2018): ¡¿Puedes hacer eso?! Viabilidad de la terapia de exposición a la realidad virtual en el tratamiento del TEPT debido a un trauma sexual militar.
  • The Guardian (2018): Realidad virtual para ayudar a detectar el riesgo temprano de Alzheimer