Technology is being used in the healthcare industry increasingly especially in the mental health sector. This is because the need for mental health services is increasing but the number of qualified therapists isn’t increasing accordingly. There are a number of digital applications that are helping people improve their mental well-being but the need for a clinical expert still remains and the demand keeps on increasing.

Moreover, Virtual Reality and all its related technology are being hailed as the goldilocks that the mental health sector was waiting for all this long. As the name suggests, VR sends the ones struggling with mental health issues to a world in which they can learn how to cope with different situations.

The key here is that none of it is real and so can be used as much as one likes for practice. Your sessions are just one touch away on a device with a working internet connection. The most important thing to remember is to choose a fast, stable, and fast-speed internet connection, such as CenturyLink Internet, in order for these technologies to work well for sessions.

These are all the ways in which Virtual Reality is helping the mental health sector. Read on to learn more.

Psychosis

There have been a number of studies that have shown that VR can be very helpful in dealing with different situations regarding psychosis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health conducted a study in 2020 and its findings have proved the above-mentioned thesis. One study was conducted on 30 subjects that were dealing with persecutory delusions.

On them, two forms of VR therapies were applied, one was VR Exposure Therapy (VRET) and the other was VR Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (VRCBT). It was found that VRCBT actually helped patients with reducing their delusions and maintained their mental stability of patients.

VR is also helping mental health experts in diagnosing psychosis when they immerse patients in VR scenarios that are within safe limits.

Alzheimer’s

The detection of early signs of Alzheimer’s is one of the biggest challenges for the medical sector. When the disease is diagnosed, usually the symptoms start showing way before. VR is now making it possible for experts to catch those early signs that could lead to a full detection of Alzheimer’s.

A UK-based Alzheimer’s society conducted a result that went on for about three years and it proved that VR can actually be helpful in its detection. The patients were given virtual scenarios in which they had to trace back their steps without any additional help.

The results suggested that VR was more able to detect minor signs that can be left unseen in regular cognitive tests, which are mostly remembering symbols etc.

PTSD

PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is one of the most difficult mental health situations to deal with. Yet VR is still helping the healthcare professional with not only diagnosing it but also in its treatment. In these sessions, VR and patients are not left alone but there is an expert available too due to the high sensitivity of the situation.

The session involves creating an environment where patients repeatedly experience and learn how to cope with the situations. A number of studies have shown that in the treatment of PTSD, VR therapy works better than the traditional control groups to reduce the severity of conditions.

Addiction

Addiction is one of those problems that might be easy to diagnose but take a lot of time to treat. It is also linked to anxiety and depression as the causing agents so its treatment is like treating two or three conditions at the same time. VR helps in reducing the anxiety that pushes the patient in pursuing whatever addiction they have developed.

The self-soothing techniques like meditation and breath control in the immersive nature of VR are very helpful because the patients are made to experience almost real-life scenarios. VR is also being used not only in diagnosis and treatment but in reducing the extent of addiction as well which can be helpful in the treatment phase.

VR Mental Therapy

Apart from diagnosing different mental health conditions, VR is also being extensively used in providing mental therapy to those in need as well. It’s basically on the premise that the patients are provided with the virtual environment in which the treatment can be provided remaining within the safe limits.

For example, if someone has anxiety about public speaking and they are in a situation where they have to do it, VR can help with this. A virtual public can be created in front of which one has to speak, this helps in overcoming the fear without there being real people. So, this therapy session is not just telling the therapist about your fear but you can actually face it without having to gather a real public.

Conclusion

The potential of VR in the field of mental health is great and soon its widespread use will start. Not only it is used by mental health experts but with enough awareness, its personal use will also prove to be helpful.