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Using Virtual Reality in Mental Health Intervention and Treatment

Virtual reality (VR) is no longer just for gaming or entertainment. This incredible technology is slowly transforming many industries, including behavioral healthcare. In theory, VR therapy can help individuals learn new skills, reduce fears, process things that happened in the past and so much more.

How exactly is this possible? What are the benefits of integrating virtual reality and mental health treatment? Are there any challenges involved? Below, we answer all these questions in our guide on using VR as a mental health intervention and treatment tool.

What Is VR Therapy?

VR therapy is a therapeutic technique that uses virtual reality technology as a treatment tool. The client wears a headset and immerses themselves in a simulated world that they must interact with. A behavioral health professional may use this approach to help a person manage multiple mental health conditions, including anxiety, phobias, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

It's important to note that VR therapy doesn't eliminate the need for traditional mental health treatments. However, virtual reality can be used as a tool for therapeutic intervention and mental health treatment.

VR for Exposure Therapy

Exposure therapy is a treatment tool that helps people confront their fears, anxieties or traumatic memories. The goal is to expose individuals to these challenges so they can gradually overcome them.

Therapists can use VR technology to gradually expose clients to these triggers by immersing them in realistic, computer-generated scenarios.

VR for Anxiety and Stress Management

Using VR, individuals can practice mindfulness, guided meditation or exposure to different environments. This can help reduce stress levels and improve overall mental well-being.

A case study conducted at the University of Oxford demonstrated how impactful virtual reality can be in helping to reduce social anxiety. The participants engaged in VR-based exposure therapy and reported significant decreases in anxiety symptoms and improved confidence in social settings.

VR for PTSD and Trauma Recovery

With VR, individuals can confront traumatic memories under the guidance of a trained clinician. By simulating specific scenarios, people can gradually desensitize to their triggers and reduce the intensity of emotional responses. However, it is important to exercise caution, as putting someone into a traumatizing situation has the potential to retraumatize them.

A great example is Bravemind, by the University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technologies. This program focused on veterans with combat-related PTSD. After VR therapy, participants reported decreased anxiety, improved emotional regulation and a better ability to reconnect with daily life.

VR-Based CBT and Depression Treatment

The Lancet Psychiatry published a study on virtual reality's potential in depression treatment. Results revealed that VR-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) improved self-compassion and reduced self-criticism among participants. This is another example of how VR can enhance traditional therapeutic approaches.

3 Key Benefits of Virtual Reality Therapy

From the case studies mentioned above, it's clear that VR therapy can be incredibly helpful in mental health treatment. Here are a few advantages of this approach.

1. Enhanced Client Engagement and Immersion

Traditional therapy involves talking through fears or visualizing scenarios. While this can be essential in a client's recovery process, VR therapy encourages clients to experience these challenging scenarios in a controlled, virtual space. For example, someone who fears heights can stand on the rooftop of a building in virtual reality. This hands-on approach can make therapy feel less clinical and more empowering.

2. Personalized Therapy Experiences

One of the most exciting aspects of VR therapy is how personalized it can be. You can tailor each session to your client's needs and challenges.

Traditional treatment often relies on generalized techniques. However, virtual reality allows therapists to create a customized experience. For example, someone who fears flying can gradually progress from boarding the airplane to taking a seat, hearing the engine start and eventually taking off. This can happen all at their own pace.

Therapists can also adjust the difficulty of each scenario based on progress. This flexibility helps ensure the therapy aligns with the client's comfort levels and goals.

3. Accelerated Therapeutic Progress Through VR Controlled Environments

VR therapy has one major advantage over traditional therapy — it removes real-world risks. In the examples mentioned above of people who fear heights or flying, VR therapy can help accelerate their progress by creating controlled environments where individuals can safely face their challenges.

Unlike traditional therapy, virtual reality allows therapists to replicate scenarios and adjust variables to match the client's comfort level and goals. For example, if your client fears public speaking, you can allow them to practice speaking in a simulated boardroom, adjusting audience size and reactions as they build confidence. These controlled scenarios allow people to experience gradual exposure at their own pace.

Challenges Involved in Implementing Virtual Reality in Mental Health

Implementing VR therapy can come with multiple challenges, such as:

High initial costs: VR therapy requires headsets, compatible computers, therapeutic software, and ongoing software updates and maintenance.
Technical issues: Software bugs, compatibility issues or hardware malfunctions can disrupt a therapy session.
Therapist training: Integrating virtual reality requires clinicians to learn many new tools and techniques, some of which they may be unfamiliar with.
Ethical and privacy concerns: Since VR therapy often involves recording or tracking data to customize treatments, privacy and data security concerns can arise.
Client engagement and trust: Some people may be skeptical about VR therapy over traditional methods.
Physical impacts on clients: Some clients experience eye strain or motion sickness due to VR technology.
Disassociation concerns: Virtual reality could worsen derealization and depersonalization. Significant grounding work before attempting VR therapy can potentially help.

How to Implement Virtual Reality Therapy in Mental Health Practices

The first 12 steps of MRT are considered the most essential. Once an individual completes step 12, you can assess whether they should continue steps 13 to 16 on their own or in a group setting. These are the moral reconation therapy steps:

Honesty
Trust
Acceptance
Awareness
Healing damaged relationships
Helping others
Long-term goals and identity
Short-term goals and consistency
Commitment to change
Maintaining positive change
Keeping moral commitments
Choosing moral goals

Steps 13 through 16 focus on the relationship between a client's personality and inner self. Throughout these steps, you will prepare them to transition to their future.

It is important to note that the first 12 steps of the Freedom Ladder are organized according to the stages of moral reasoning, which is another way to view MRT from a clinical perspective:

Disloyalty: This stage represents steps one and two of the Freedom Ladder, honesty and trust. It focuses on moral judgments, lying, cheating, stealing and exploitative relationships.
Opposition: This stage represents step three of the Freedom Ladder, acceptance. It encourages clients to be more honest and reduces the tendency to blame others for their behavior.

Why Trust ICANotes for Documenting VR Therapy Session Notes?

Any therapy session requires detailed documentation. VR sessions are extremely thorough and produce extensive data, making it even more essential to streamline your note-writing process. At ICANotes, we've developed an integrated behavioral health software solution to help you reduce your documentation time, improve documentation accuracy and enhance documentation legibility.

Our EHR software was designed by a clinician psychiatrist for behavioral health professionals. It allows you to create excellent notes in less time, which means you can spend more time with clients and devote more time to creating VR therapy treatment plans. It is secure, intuitive and web-based, meaning you can access client records from any internet-connected device.

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Document Your Session Notes With ICANotes

VR therapy can help enhance client engagement and therapeutic outcomes. While there are challenges to consider, they can be overcome with thoughtful planning.

A highly intuitive EHR that's ready out-of-the-box makes documenting VR therapy sessions easy. For decades, behavioral health clinicians like you have trusted ICANotes to simplify the documentation process. Start your free trial today, or request a live demo to see how ICANotes can support your venture into VR therapy!

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