Against dizziness, against phobias or, more prosaically, to watch a fashion show, virtual reality headsets increasingly occupy the media scene as their fields of application seem infinite. The latest proof comes from British researchers at the University College of London: virtual reality could be used as a therapy for treat depressive symptoms.
Featured in the magazine British Journal of Psychiatry Open, the works report the experience of immersion experienced by 15 patients diagnosed with depression. A virtual reality helmet screwed on the head, each patient was first confronted with his adult “avatar” which reproduced his body movements exactly. This process of personification or self-identification was then followed by the projection in a mirror of a child in tears. Patients were asked to comfort and console the crying child by saying compassionate phrases. They told him, for example, to remember when he was happy and when he felt loved.
More compassion and less self-criticism
In a second phase, the roles changed: the patient “incarnated” in the crying child avatar. So it was he who received the comforting words to calm his sadness.
Each patient followed this therapy in the form of three virtual reality sessions of 45 minutes.
Results of the experiment: after one month, the patients reported fewer symptoms of depression.
British researchers assure that virtual reality is a serious therapeutic avenue for treating depression. How? By playing on compassion and encouraging people to be more forgiving and understanding of themselves: “In this study, by comforting the child and hearing their own words, patients indirectly sent compassion to themselves. The goal was to teach patients to be more compassionate and less critical of themselves”, concludes Prof Brewin, author of the study, quoted by the BBC.
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