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Researchers conducted the largest clinical trial of VR treatment to treat patients suffering from psychosis and schizophrenia, according to a new report published in the journal The Lancet Psychiatry on Tuesday.
Proof
Virtual reality isn’t just for video games or Mark Zuckerberg’s furious fantasies about the metaverse. It can also be used to treat mental health conditions.
The experiment was part of game-change, a program developed by the University of Oxford and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust that employs virtual reality to treat agoraphobia, which is a prevalent symptom of psychosis.
Patients wore a VR headgear for six weeks and participated in six 30-minute therapy sessions in addition to usual treatment (taking prescribed antipsychotic medication, receiving regular visits from a mental health worker, and visiting with a psychiatrist).
They started each session in a virtual therapist’s office before moving on to simulated outdoor events like waiting at a bus stop, visiting a cafe, or going to the doctor to help patients adapt to and build confidence while approaching new environments in real life.
Result
When compared to a parallel group of patients who just received typical usual care therapy after six weeks, Freeman and his team discovered that the experiment was an overall success for the program, leading to a considerable drop in patients avoiding every day, outside circumstances.
They also discovered that the patients with the most severe agoraphobia improved the most after treatment.
While the simulations are quite realistic, the researchers claim that the VR aspect made the patients feel more at ease and more willing to try new things.
The authors of the study believe that virtual reality headsets might be distributed and provided to patients in the future to assist them to acquire confidence before going outside whenever they wish.
They also anticipate that in the future, other scenarios can be created to assist patients with even more sophisticated social interactions.
Overall, the new findings provide the most comprehensive examination of how virtual reality can be utilized to treat mental illness to date. If these findings are any indication, the treatment could be a game-changer for people suffering from chronic mental illnesses.
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Nancy J. Allen is a crypto enthusiast, with a major in macroeconomics and minor in business statistics. She believes that cryptocurrencies inspire people to be their own banks, and step aside from traditional monetary exchange systems. She is also intrigued by blockchain technology and its functioning. She frequently researches, and posts content on the top altcoins, their theoretical working principles and technical price predictions.
