Proof of Concept of an Eclectic, Integrative Therapeutic Approach to Mental Health and Well-Being Through Virtual Reality Technology

Frewen, Paul A.; Mistry, Divya; Zhu, Jenney; Kielt, Talia; Wekerle, Christine; Lanius, Ruth A.; Jetly, Rakesh

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00858

Cited by 32 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 78 publications

(79 reference statements)

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“…Previous research has revealed the promise of VR for inducing positive affect in response to guided meditation practices when conducted within pleasant computer graphical environments viewed through HMD (Frewen et al, 2020;Miller et al, 2021;Mistry et al, 2020;Navarro-Haro et al, 2017 and has also demonstrated the application of immersive 360°videos of similarly pleasant but real-world recorded environments for use in meditation practice also viewed through HMD (Bennett, 2018;Tarrant et al, 2018). However, as much as these prior demonstrations have facilitated immersive meditative experiences in various virtual settings, these previous meditations involved decidedly solitary activities; meditative instructors were not visually depicted within the scenes (c.f., Cikajlo et al, 2016, who used avatars).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…demonstrating the efficacy of conducting meditation practices within these graphical virtual environments, especially for improving positive affect and wellbeing (e.g., relaxation; Frewen et al, 2020;Mistry et al, 2020;Navarro-Haro et al, 2017. For example, Mistry et al (2020) showed that, as compared to closely matched non-VR meditations, VR meditation was associated with heightened experiences of certain positive emotions, most notably awe, particularly when the VR meditation preceded rather than followed practice of the non-VR meditation in a repeated measures design.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Meditating in Virtual Reality 3: 360° Video of Perceptual Presence of Instructor

et al. 2021

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Objectives The need for remote delivery of mental health interventions including instruction in meditation has become paramount in the wake of the current global pandemic. However, the support one may usually feel within the physical presence of an instructor may be weakened when interventions are delivered remotely, potentially impacting one's meditative experiences. Use of head-mounted displays (HMD) to display video-recorded instruction may increase one's sense of psychological presence with the instructor as compared to presentation via regular flatscreen (e.g., laptop) monitor. This research therefore evaluated a didactic, trauma-informed care approach to instruction in mindfulness meditation by comparing meditative responses to an instructor-guided meditation when delivered face-to-face vs. by pre-recorded 360°videos viewed either on a standard flatscreen monitor (2D format) or via HMD (i.e., virtual reality [VR] headset; 3D format). Methods Young adults (n = 82) were recruited from a university introductory course and experienced a 360°video-guided meditation via HMD (VR condition, 3D format). They were also randomly assigned to practice the same meditation either via scripted face-to-face instruction (in vivo [IV] format) or when viewed on a standard laptop display (non-VR condition, 2D format). Positive and negative affect and meditative experience ratings were self-reported and participants' maintenance of focused attention to breathing (i.e., meditation breath attention scores [MBAS]) were recorded during each meditation. Results Meditating in VR (3D format) was associated with a heightened experience of awe overall. When compared to face-toface instruction (IV format), VR meditation was rated as less embarrassing but also less enjoyable and more tiring. When compared to 2D format, VR meditations were associated with greater experiences of relaxation, less distractibility from the process of breathing, and less fatigue. No differences were found between VR and non-VR meditation in concentration (MBAS). Baseline posttraumatic stress symptoms were risk factors for experiencing distress while meditating in either (VR and non-VR) instructional format. Of those who reported a preference for one format, approximately half preferred the VR format and approximately half preferred the IV format. Conclusions Recorded 360°video instruction in meditation viewed with a HMD (i.e., VR/3D format) appears to offer some experiential advantage over instructions given in 2D format and may offer a safe-and for some even preferred-alternative to teaching meditation face-to-face.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Meditating in Virtual Reality 3: 360° Video of Perceptual Presence of Instructor

et al. 2021

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“…Further, it was our impression that the order effect we observed in the present study was at least partially attributable to method variance, whereby participants randomized to complete non-VR meditation first rated this experience in a way that was perhaps overly favorable due to the fact that they had not yet experienced VR meditation, producing a relative ceiling effect for comparisons with VR meditation. A more comparative assessment such as conducted in the study by Frewen et al (2020) may therefore be less sensitive to a possible order effect if indeed this can be viewed as a nuisance variable or artifact rather than a bona fide result of theoretical or clinical significance. On the other hand, our research design comparing the effect of eyes-open versus eyes-closed conditions during non-VR only as a between-groups factor limits investigation of this effect, and future researchers might rather employ three meditations in a fully balanced within-subjects design.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, we were cognizant of the fact that meditation practices are often conducted with participants' eyes closed, and so we also required to include this condition for external validity purposes. Frewen et al (2020) provide justification of the use of both experimental control conditions in comparisons of response between VR and non-VR tasks.…”

Section: Materials and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Further, despite the range of empirical support for VRET, the approach may be most applicable to instances characterized by intense avoidance and phobia of specific traumatic events and stimuli, rather than broader problems related to general life stress and well-being. Therefore, research and design of other applications of VR to mental health treatment, as adjunctive or alternative treatment options, have also been encouraged, including as an aid to meditation practices (Frewen et al, 2020).…”

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Meditating in virtual reality: Proof-of-concept intervention for posttraumatic stress.

Mistry¹,

Zhu²,

Tremblay³

et al. 2020

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy

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We investigate the potential therapeutic application of virtual reality (VR) technology as an aid to meditation practice among persons varying in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Method: In this within-group mixed-methods study, 96 young adults practiced both VR-and non-VRguided meditations and reported on their experience of positive affect (PA), negative affect (NA), other meditative experiences and perceived satisfaction-credibility of each meditation. Results: Participants reported more PA and greater perceived satisfaction-credibility following the VR as compared to non-VR-guided meditations primarily when the VR meditation was practiced first, before the non-VR meditation, as opposed to vice versa. The experience of NA during meditation practice was infrequent, although persons with increased PTSD symptoms reported increased distress during both VR and non-VR meditation. Conclusions: Further study of therapeutic applications of VR as an aid to meditation practice among people with PTSD symptoms is warranted. Clinical Impact StatementWe explored the therapeutic potential of pairing virtual reality (VR) technology with guided meditation and found that people responded to VR meditations with increased positive affect when VR meditation was practiced before non-VR meditation. Also, those who reported experiencing greater posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in the past month also reported experiencing greater distress during both VR and non-VR meditation. We advocate for a trauma-informed care approach to meditation practice when conducted in VR among persons with PTSD symptoms.

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The effect of immersive virtual reality‐based attentional bias modification on anxiety mitigation in healthy population

et al. 2022

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The present study compared an immersive virtual reality‐based attentional bias modification (immersive VR‐ABM) with the desktop version of the VR‐ABM and an immersive virtual reality‐based game (immersive VR‐game) to examine the possible effect of the immersive presence on self‐reported emotional reactions to a stressful task. One hundred and twenty participants were randomly assigned into three groups, and each group received a three‐turn induction–intervention training. Anxiety symptoms were assessed at pre‐induction, post‐induction, and post‐training. Results showed that virtual reality‐based anxiety was induced and alleviated successfully in all three groups, but only the immersive VR‐ABM group showed an accumulated effect on self‐reported anxiety across sessions. The attentional bias based on probe latencies indicated no significant change in either the immersive or desktop VR‐ABM groups. The present findings support the hypothesized VR‐ABM's effect on self‐reported anxiety at the immersive presence. The practical implications of using immersive VR‐ABM are discussed for obtaining ecological validity.

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Proof of Concept of an Eclectic, Integrative Therapeutic Approach to Mental Health and Well-Being Through Virtual Reality Technology

Cited by 32 publications

References 78 publications

Meditating in Virtual Reality 3: 360° Video of Perceptual Presence of Instructor

Meditating in Virtual Reality 3: 360° Video of Perceptual Presence of Instructor

Meditating in virtual reality: Proof-of-concept intervention for posttraumatic stress.

The effect of immersive virtual reality‐based attentional bias modification on anxiety mitigation in healthy population

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