Presence-Inducing Media for Mental Health Applications

Presence inducing media have recently emerged as a potentially effective way to provide general and specialty mental health services, and they appear poised to enter mainstream clinical delivery. However, to ensure appropriate development and use of these technologies, clinicians must have a clear understanding of the opportunities and challenges they will provide to professional practice. This chapter attempts to outline the current state of clinical research related to the use of presence-inducing technologies, virtual reality in particular. Through presence, virtual reality helps the patient both to confront his/her problems in a meaningful yet controlled and safe setting. Further, it opens the possibility of experiencing his/her life in another, more satisfactory, way. In fact, virtual reality therapists are using presence to provide meaningful experiences which are capable of inducing deep and permanent changes in their patients. Finally, the chapter discusses the possible evolution of presence-inducing media from virtual reality to augmented reality, to interreality.