Future of Mental Health in the Metaverse
Open accessAbstract
The metaverse and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) were some of the hottest tech terms in 2021, according to a Google Trends search. Our review aims to describe the metaverse and NFTs in the context of their potential application in the treatment of mental health disorders. Advancements in technology have been changing human lives at an ever-increasing pace. Metaverse, also known as the three-dimensional (3D) internet, is the convergence of virtual reality (VR) and physical reality in a digital space. It could potentially change the internet as we know it, with NFTs as the key building blocks in the new expansive virtual ecosystem. This immersive 3D virtual world boasts the features of the real world with the added ability to change the surrounding environment according to individual needs and requirements. VR, augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) have been employed as tools in the treatment of various mental health disorders for the past decade. Studies have reported positive results on their effectiveness in the diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders. VR/AR/MR have been hailed as a solution to the acute shortage of mental health professionals and the lack of access to mental healthcare. But, on the flip side, young adults tend to spend a significant amount of time playing 3D immersive games and using social media, which can lead to insecurity, anxiety, depression, and behavioural addiction. Additionally, endless scrolling through social media platforms negatively affects individuals' attention span as well as aggravating the symptoms of adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. We aimed to explore the ramifications of expanding applications of the metaverse on mental health. So far, no other review has explored the future of mental health in the context of the metaverse.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Although consumer iVR technology is widely available and affordable, the pressing absence of freely available VRET platforms persists.
“Although consumer iVR technology is widely available and affordable, the pressing absence of freely available VRET platforms persists [54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64].”
From SAFEvR MentalVeRse.app: Development of a Free Immersive Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Acrophobia and Claustrophobia (2024) · cites this paper as [57]
The section on projected negative impacts says cost and other constraints will limit access to VR devices, but does not assess whether consumer immersive VR is widely available or affordable. The sections on VR applications and their limitations discuss exposure therapy without addressing the availability of free VRET platforms; searches for those terms found no supporting passage. (LLM, conf=0.75)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Virtual Reality in the Assessment, Understanding, and Treatment of Mental Health Disorders
Freeman, D., Reeve, S., Robinson, A., Ehlers, A., Clark, D., Spanlang, B., & Slater, M. (2017) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s003329171700040x · Cited by 1,428 · see citing works
Torous, J., Bucci, S., Bell, I. H., Kessing, L. V., Faurholt‐Jepsen, M., Whelan, P., Carvalho, A. F., Keshavan, M., Linardon, J., & Firth, J. (2021) · World Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/wps.20883 · Cited by 1,199 · see citing works
Loneliness and social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic
Hwang, T.-J., Rabheru, K., Peisah, C., Reichman, W., & Ikeda, M. (2020) · International Psychogeriatrics · doi:10.1017/s1041610220000988 · Cited by 1,044 · cited 1× · see citing works
“22 Even in non-pandemic times, vulnerable populations like the elderly are often restricted in their ability to socialise with family or friends for many reasons.”
BackgroundMental Illness Stigma, Help Seeking, and Public Health Programs
Henderson, C., Evans-Lacko, S., & Thornicroft, G. (2013) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.2012.301056 · Cited by 959 · see citing works
Blackwell, D., Leaman, C., Tramposch, R., Osborne, C., & Liss, M. (2017) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2017.04.039 · Cited by 897 · see citing works
Mapping the NFT revolution: Market trends, trade networks, and visual features
Nadini, M., Alessandretti, L., Di Giacinto, F., Martino, M., Aiello, L. M., & Baronchelli, A. (2021) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-021-00053-8 · Cited by 715 · see citing works
Advertising in the metaverse: Research agenda
Kim, J. (2021) · Journal of Interactive Advertising · doi:10.1080/15252019.2021.2001273 · Cited by 645 · see citing works
Marroquín, B. M., Vine, V., & Morgan, R. M. (2020) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113419 · Cited by 637 · see citing works
Gupta, M., & Sharma, A. (2021) · World Journal of Clinical Cases · doi:10.12998/wjcc.v9.i19.4881 · Cited by 440 · see citing works
Park, M. J., Kim, D. J., Lee, U., Na, E. J., & Jeon, H. J. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00505 · Cited by 437 · see citing works
Franchina, V., Vanden Abeele, M., Van Rooij, A. J., Lo Coco, G., & De Marez, L. (2018) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph15102319 · Cited by 411 · see citing works
Embodying self-compassion within virtual reality and its effects on patients with depression
Falconer, C. J., Rovira, A., King, J. A., Gilbert, P., Antley, A., Fearon, P., Ralph, N., Slater, M., & Brewin, C. R. (2016) · BJPsych Open · doi:10.1192/bjpo.bp.115.002147 · Cited by 312 · see citing works
Virtual reality as a clinical tool in mental health research and practice
Bell, I. H., Nicholas, J., Alvarez-Jimenez, M., Thompson, A., & Valmaggia, L. (2020) · Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience · doi:10.31887/dcns.2020.22.2/lvalmaggia · Cited by 302 · see citing works
Kaimara, P., Οικονόμου, Α., & Deliyannis, I. (2021) · Virtual Reality · doi:10.1007/s10055-021-00563-w · Cited by 247 · see citing works
Freeman, D. H., Bradley, J., Antley, A., Bourke, E., DeWeever, N., Evans, N., Černis, E., Sheaves, B., Waite, F., Dunn, G., et al. (2016) · The British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.115.176438 · Cited by 243 · see citing works
Ioannou, A., Papastavrou, E., Avraamides, M. N., & Charalambous, A. (2020) · SAGE Open Nursing · doi:10.1177/2377960820936163 · Cited by 241 · see citing works
Freeman, D. H., Lambe, S., Kabir, T., Petit, A., Rosebrock, L. E., Yu, L., Dudley, R. E. J., Chapman, K., Morrison, A. P., O’Regan, E., et al. (2022) · The Lancet Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(22)00060-8 · Cited by 160 · see citing works
The impact of the digital revolution on human brain and behavior: where do we stand?
Körte, M. (2020) · Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience · doi:10.31887/dcns.2020.22.2/mkorte · Cited by 150 · see citing works
Evidence on Virtual Reality-Based Therapies for Psychiatric Disorders: Meta-Review of Meta-Analyses
Dellazizzo, L., Potvin, S., Luigi, M., & Dumais, A. (2020) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/20889 · Cited by 135 · see citing works
Increasing Cybercrime Since the Pandemic: Concerns for Psychiatry
Monteith, S., Bauer, M., Alda, M., Geddes, J. R., Whybrow, P. C., & Glenn, T. (2021) · Current Psychiatry Reports · doi:10.1007/s11920-021-01228-w · Cited by 111 · see citing works
Goharinejad, S., Goharinejad, S., Hajesmaeel‐Gohari, S., & Bahaadinbeigy, K. (2022) · BMC Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/s12888-021-03632-1 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
The use of virtual reality in psychiatry: A review
Kim, S., & Kim, E. (2020) · Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.5765/jkacap.190037 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Treatment utilization and treatment barriers in individuals with body dysmorphic disorder
Schulte, J., Schulz, C., Wilhelm, S., & Buhlmann, U. (2020) · BMC Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/s12888-020-02489-0 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
de Carvalho, M., Dias, T., Duchesne, M., Nardi, A. E., & Appolinário, J. C. (2017) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs7030043 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Online sexual abuse of adolescents by a perpetrator met online: a cross-sectional study
Jonsson, L. S., Fredlund, C., Priebe, G., Wadsby, M., & Svedin, C. G. (2019) · Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health · doi:10.1186/s13034-019-0292-1 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
Ifdil, I., Situmorang, D. D. B., Firman, F., Zola, N., Rangka, I. B., & Fadli, R. P. (2022) · Journal of Public Health · doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdac049 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Usage of Medical Internet and E-Health Services by the Elderly
Bujnowska–Fedak, M. M., & Mastalerz–Migas, A. (2014) · Advances in experimental medicine and biology · doi:10.1007/5584_2014_74 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Paul, I., Mohanty, S., & Sengupta, R. (2021) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2021.107036 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Carras, M. C., Shi, J. C., Hard, G., & Saldanha, I. J. (2020) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0240032 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Lee, H., Kim, S.-H., & Uhm, J.-P. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.753019 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Digital Health: Hope, Hype, and Amara’s Law
Dorn, S. D. (2015) · Gastroenterology · doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2015.07.024 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Abbas, L. A., & Dodeen, H. M. (2021) · Media Asia · doi:10.1080/01296612.2021.2013065 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Early Psychological Intervention After Rape: A Feasibility Study
Bragesjö, M., Larsson, K., Nordlund, L., Anderbro, T., Andersson, E., & Möller, A. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01595 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Problem Gaming: A Short Primer.
Gorman, T. E., Gentile, D. A., & Green, C. S. (2018) · PubMed · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Alghamdi, M. (2020) · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Ullah, H., Manickam, S., Obaidat, M., Laghari, S. U. A., & Uddin, M. (2023) · IEEE Access · doi:10.1109/access.2023.3286696 · Cited by 198 · see citing works
Wray, T. B., Kemp, J. J., & Larsen, M. A. (2023) · Cognitive Behaviour Therapy · doi:10.1080/16506073.2023.2229017 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
“Other approaches could potentially involve delivering all psychotherapy sessions in VR, rather than using videoconferencing, as some are exploring (Businesswire, 2021; Usmani et al., 2022).”
BackgroundHinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. (2026) · New Media & Society · doi:10.1177/14614448241284413 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Gaina, M.-A., Sbarcea, S.-V., Popa, B.-S., Stefanescu, B.-V., Gaina, A.-M., Szalontay, A.-S., Bolos, A., & Stefanescu, C. (2024) · Brain Sciences · doi:10.3390/brainsci14070651 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
- Authors
- Usmani, S. S., Sharath, M., & Mehendale, M.
- Affiliations
- Dow University of Health Sciences (PK)
- Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (IN)
- Smolensk State Medical University (RU)
- Corresponding author
- Usmani, Sadia Suhail
- Venue
- General Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2022-07-22
- Volume
- 35
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- e100825-e100825
- ISSN
- 2096-5923 (ISSN-L)
- 2517-729X
- PMC
- PMC9472101
- OpenAlex
- W4286697722
- Cited by
- 262
- References
- 35
- Citations by year
- 2026: 28 · 2025: 62 · 2024: 88 · 2023: 74 · 2022: 10
- FWCI
- 6.05
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- General Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Keywords
- metaverse, non-fungible tokens, virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, mental illness, psychotherapy, access to mental health care, social media use, behavioral addiction, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, adolescents
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
