Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have made gradual inroads in health and medical care. We noted a Cedars-Sinai study of VR used to reduce maternal labor pain. In late 2019 we wrote about StoryUP Studios’ Healium project that combines wearables with virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and story-telling to reduce anxiety.
Oxford VR — a company based in Oxford, England — recently launched OVR social engagement. The new program is a progressive behavioral health intervention that helps people with anxious social engagement overcome this debilitating condition. Anxious social avoidance is comorbidity common with people who have a range of mental health illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia, personality disorders, and agoraphobia. Anxiety over being unsafe and out of control around other people can interrupt lives and lead to isolation and lack of engagement. The lack of contact with others can make recovery from mental health conditions much more difficult than with someone who relates freely with other people.
Based on cognitive-behavioral therapy, the OVR social engagement intervention is a user-centered program. Participants wear VR equipment and experience a virtual world engineered and designed to be life-like, interactive, and engaging. Accompanied by a virtual coach, patients complete a series of increasingly challenging tasks in various virtual settings. The theory behind the OVR intervention is that as patients succeed in the virtual challenges, they will gain confidence, feel less threatened, and be less vulnerable to triggering situations.
OVR social engagement is available in the U.K. to National Health Service patients and in the U.S. and Asia through Oxford VR’s strategic partners.
We look forward to seeing future studies on OVR social engagement effectiveness in helping people who suffer from anxious social avoidance with long-term improvements in mental health and quality of life.
