Virtual Reality and Metaverse in the Treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Year 2024, Volume: 3 Issue: 2, 35 - 40, 30.12.2024

Sena Akbay Safi

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14585364

Abstract

The rapidly increasing technological advancements such as virtual reality tools, which are becoming a part of our daily lives, have offered us the opportunity to receive better services in many fields, including the field of mental health. There are studies investigating the ways how virtual reality and metaverse can be integrated in the treatment process of many mental health problems in general and the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder in particular. Yet, considering that it is a new field that is still under research, there is still a need for more studies to focus on different ways to integrate those tools where they can minimize the disadvantages. Especially, there are not many applications for the usage of metaverse in the mental health field. This review aims to present the studies on the usage of virtual reality tools in the treatment of PTSD, provide suggestions on how metaverse can be integrated in the treatment protocols and finally put a light on the possible disadvantages that could come with it.

Keywords

Virtual Reality , Metaverse , Post traumatic stress disorder , Trauma , Psychological treatment

References

• [1] P. Mirza-Babaei, R. Robinson, R. Mandryk, J. Pirker, C. Kang, and A. Fletcher, "Games and the Metaverse," in Extended Abstracts of the 2022 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play, 2022, pp. 318-319.
• [2] C. W. Lee, "Application of Metaverse Service to Healthcare Industry: A Strategic Perspective," International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 19, no. 20, p. 13038, 2022.
• [3] D. Gursoy, S. Malodia, and A. Dhir, "The metaverse in the hospitality and tourism industry: An overview of current trends and future research directions," Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 527-534, 2022.
• [4] J. Singh, M. Malhotra, and N. Sharma, "Metaverse in education: An overview," in Applying Metalytics to Meas-ure Customer Experience in the Metaverse, 2022, pp. 135-142.
• [5] I. H. Bell, J. Nicholas, M. Alvarez-Jimenez, A. Thompson, and L. Valmaggia, "Virtual reality as a clinical tool in mental health research and practice," Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 169-177, 2022.
• [6] P. M. Emmelkamp and K. Meyerbröker, "Virtual reality therapy in mental health," Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, vol. 17, pp. 495-519, 2021.
• [7] S. Heo and J. H. Park, "Effects of virtual reality-based graded exposure therapy on PTSD symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis," International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 19, no. 23, p. 15911, 2022.
• [8] O. D. Kothgassner, A. Goreis, J. X. Kafka, R. L. Van Eickels, P. L. Plener, and A. Felnhofer, "Virtual reality exposure therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): a meta-analysis," European Journal of Psychotraumatology, vol. 10, no. 1, p. 1654782, 2019.
• [9] S. Goharinejad, S. Goharinejad, S. Hajesmaeel-Gohari, and K. Bahaadinbeigy, "The usefulness of virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies in the diagnosis and treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children: an overview of relevant studies," BMC Psychiatry, vol. 22, no. 1, p. 4, 2022.
• [10] D. Freeman, S. Reeve, A. Robinson, A. Ehlers, D. Clark, B. Spanlang, and M. Slater, "Virtual reality in the assessment, understanding, and treatment of mental health disorders," Psychological Medicine, vol. 47, no. 14, pp. 2393-2400, 2017.
• [11] E. Üzümcü, B. Akin, H. Nergiz, M. İnözü, and U. Çelikcan, "Anksiyete bozukluklarında sanal gerçeklik," Psiki-yatride Guncel Yaklasimlar-Current Approaches in Psychiatry, vol. 10, 2018.
• [12] M. Simões, M. Bernardes, F. Barros, and M. Castelo-Branco, "Virtual travel training for autism spectrum disor-der: proof-of-concept interventional study," JMIR Serious Games, vol. 6, no. 1, p. e8428, 2018.
• [13] O. P. Du Sert, S. Potvin, O. Lipp, L. Dellazizzo, M. Laurelli, R. Breton, et al., "Virtual reality therapy for refractory auditory verbal hallucinations in schizophrenia: a pilot clinical trial," Schizophrenia Research, vol. 197, pp. 176-181, 2018.
• [14] R. C. Keynejad, T. Dua, C. Barbui, and G. Thornicroft, "WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) Intervention Guide: a systematic review of evidence from low and middle-income countries," BMJ Ment Health, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 30-34, 2018.
• [15] American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.), 2013. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
• [16] Y. W. Leung, D. A. Alter, P. L. Prior, D. E. Stewart, J. Irvine, and S. L. Grace, "Posttraumatic growth in coronary artery disease outpatients: Relationship to degree of trauma and health service use," Journal of Psychosomatic Research, vol. 72, no. 4, pp. 293-299, 2012.
• [17] L. Bostock, A. I. Sheikh, and S. Barton, "Posttraumatic growth and optimism in health-related trauma: A systematic review," Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 281-296, 2009.
• [18] M. Bernstein and B. Pfefferbaum, "Posttraumatic growth as a response to natural disasters in children and adolescents," Current Psychiatry Reports, vol. 20, no. 5, pp. 1-10, 2018.
• [19] M. R. Barlow and M. D. Hetzel-Riggin, "Predicting posttraumatic growth in survivors of interpersonal trauma: Gender role adherence is more important than gender," Psychology of Men & Masculinity, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 446, 2018.
• [20] J. L. Herman, Trauma and recovery: The aftermath of violence--from domestic abuse to political terror, Hachette UK, 2015.
• [21] B. A. Van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, Viking, 2014.
• [22] P. Spinhoven, B. W. Penninx, A. M. Van Hemert, M. De Rooij, and B. M. Elzinga, "Comorbidity of PTSD in anx-iety and depressive disorders: Prevalence and shared risk factors," Child Abuse & Neglect, vol. 38, no. 8, pp. 1320-1330, 2014.
• [23] M. Beiser and K. A. S. Wickrama, "Trauma, time and mental health: A study of temporal reintegration and depressive disorder among Southeast Asian refugees," Psychological Medicine, vol. 34, no. 5, pp. 899-910, 2004.
• [24] T. Betancourt, I. Borisova, T. Williams, S. Meyers-Ohki, J. RubinSmith, J. Annan, and B. Kohrt, "Psychosocial adjustment and mental health in former child soldiers: Systematic review of the literature and recommendations for future research," Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, vol. 54, pp. 17–36, 2013.
• [25] A. Martin, M. Naunton, S. Kosari, G. Peterson, J. Thomas, and J. K. Christenson, "Treatment guidelines for PTSD: a systematic review," Journal of Clinical Medicine, vol. 10, no. 18, p. 4175, 2021.
• [26] B. Vardarlı, "Teknolojik Bir Yaklaşım: Sanal Gerçeklik Maruz Bırakma Terapisi," Ege Eğitim Dergisi, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 40-56, 2021.
• [27] E. B. Foa, E. A. Hembree, and B. O. Rothbaum, Prolonged exposure therapy for PTSD: Emotional processing of traumatic experiences (Treatments that Work), Oxford University Press, 2007.
• [28] L. Dellazizzo, S. Potvin, M. Luigi, and A. Dumais, "Evidence on virtual reality–based therapies for psychiatric disorders: meta-review of meta-analyses," Journal of Medical Internet Research, vol. 22, no. 8, p. e20889, 2020.
• [29] M. J. Park, D. J. Kim, U. Lee, E. J. Na, and H. J. Jeon, "A literature overview of virtual reality (VR) in treatment of psychiatric disorders: recent advances and limitations," Frontiers in Psychiatry, vol. 10, p. 505, 2019.
• [30] J. Difede, H. Hoffman, and N. Jaysinghe, "Multimedia Reviews: Innovative Use of Virtual Reality Technology in the Treatment of PTSD in the Aftermath of September 11," Psychiatric Services, vol. 53, no. 9, pp. 1083-1085, 2002.
• [31] D. J. Ready, S. Pollack, B. O. Rothbaum, and R. D. Alarcon, "Virtual reality exposure for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder," J. Aggression, Maltreatment, & Trauma, vol. 12, pp. 199–220, 2006.
• [32] B. O. Rothbaum, L. Hodges, D. Ready, K. Graap, and R. Alarcon, "Virtual reality exposure therapy for Vietnam veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder," J. Clin. Psychiatr., 2001 vol. 62, pp. 617–622.
• [33] A. S. Rizzo and R. Shilling, "Clinical virtual reality tools to advance the prevention, assessment, and treatment of PTSD," European Journal of Psychotraumatology, vol. 8, p. 1414560, 2018.
• [34] P. M. Emmelkamp, "Technological innovations in clinical assessment and psychotherapy," Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, vol. 74, no. 6, pp. 336-343, 2005. doi: 10.1159/000087780.
• [35] D. M. Romano, "Virtual reality therapy," Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, vol. 47, p. 580, 2005.
• [36] S. S. Usmani, M. Sharath, and M. Mehendale, "Future of mental health in the metaverse," General Psychiatry, vol. 35, no. 4, p. e100825, 2022.
• [37] M. Kim, "The good and the bad of escaping to virtual reality," The Atlantic, 2015.
• [38] C. S. Widom, S. J. Czaja, and M. A. Dutton, "Childhood victimization and lifetime revictimization," Child Abuse & Neglect, vol. 32, no. 8, pp. 749-758, 2008.
• [39] L. Abbas and H. Dodeen, "Body dysmorphic features among Snapchat users of 'Beauty-Retouching of Selfies' and its relationship with quality of life," Media Asia, vol. 49, no. 3, pp. 196-212, 2022.
• [40] I. Kremer, I. Orbach, and T. Rosenbloom, "Body image among victims of sexual and physical abuse," Violence and Victims, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 259-273, 2013.