Virtual reality in the assessment, understanding, and treatment of mental health disorders
Open accessAbstract
Computer scientists usually describe virtual reality (VR) as a set of fancy hardware and software technologies. However, psychology and neuroscience are starting to consider VR as the most advanced form of human-computer interaction allowing individuals to act, communicate and become present in a computer-generated environment. In this view, the feeling of "being there" experienced during a VR experience can become a powerful tool for personal change: it offers a dynamic and social world where individuals can live and share a specific experience. For this reason, the use of VR in mental health shows promise: different researches support its clinical efficacy for conditions including anxiety disorders, stress-related disorders, obesity and eating disorders, pain management, addiction and schizophrenia. However, more research is needed to transform the promises of VR in a real clinical tool for mental health. This Special Issue aims to present the most recent advances in the mental health applications of VR, as well as their implications for future patient care.
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VR interventions have shown promise in addressing anxiety and depression by providing users with safe and immersive environments to learn coping strategies and manage their conditions.
“VR interventions have shown promise in addressing anxiety and depression, providing users with safe and immersive environments to learn coping strategies and manage their conditions (19).”
From A systematic review on the efficacy of virtual reality and gamification interventions for managing anxiety and depression (2023) · cites this paper as [19]
The Abstract (page unavailable) describes VR simulations as controlled settings for anxiety treatment and says life-like virtual environments can help people learn emotion-regulation strategies. It does not report VR interventions addressing depression, so that part of the claim is unsupported. (LLM, conf=0.87)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe evidence for VR's use in depression is less conclusive than for anxiety disorders.
“However, while there is a growing body of research on VR's effectiveness in anxiety disorders, the evidence for its use in depression is less conclusive, and further investigation is needed to bridge this gap (16, 18, 19).”
From A systematic review on the efficacy of virtual reality and gamification interventions for managing anxiety and depression (2023) · cites this paper as [19]
The paper’s main text (indexed under Abstract; page unavailable) says VR treatments have been successfully tested in clinical trials, especially for anxiety disorders. It does not assess VR for depression or compare the strength of evidence for depression and anxiety, so the claim that depression evidence is less conclusive is not supported by this source. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredVirtual environments can be tailored to simulate real-life situations, allowing individuals to develop and practice coping strategies in a controlled setting.
“Virtual environments can be tailored to simulate real-life situations, allowing individuals to develop and practice coping strategies in a controlled setting (19).”
From A systematic review on the efficacy of virtual reality and gamification interventions for managing anxiety and depression (2023) · cites this paper as [19]
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- Authors
- Riva, G., & Serino, S.
- Affiliations
- Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (IT)
- Corresponding author
- Serino, Silvia
- Venue
- Journal of Clinical Medicine
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2020-10-26
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 3434
- ISSN
- 2077-0383 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7693021
- OpenAlex
- W3095369163
- Cited by
- 109
- References
- 59
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 8.55
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Clinical Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- SERVAL (Université de Lausanne) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- IRIS (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- BOA (University of Milano-Bicocca) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- PubliCatt (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- virtual reality, mental illness, anxiety disorders, stress-related disorders, eating disorders, obesity, pain management, addiction, schizophrenia, clinical efficacy, human-computer interaction, presence, virtual reality therapy
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