Comments on: Therapy via machinima

By: Machinima as Therapy? « Voom Machine

Machinima as Therapy? « Voom Machine — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:52:43 +0000

[...] Metaversehealth [...]

By: John Norris

John Norris — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 04:26:04 +0000

Good question Simon, and I think folks are still figuring and quantifying those differences.

Off the top of my head:

1) Virtual World allows for an immersive experience. This may be beneficial when treating certain issues. (OK, what those are I do not know…just noting the possible importance of a difference. I’d have to do some research on simulations and therapy)

2) Low barrier to entry. Many worlds offer free accounts, allowing for inexpensive access to and development of fairly sophisticated e-therapies.

Umm..more?

John

By: Simon Hatcher

Simon Hatcher — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 02:30:41 +0000

There’s alot of stuff on e-therapies around at the moment and it is clearly the next big thing – see (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1846479,00.html) for example. The question is what advantages does SL have compared to straightforward web sites? For example the spider phobia problem has already been addressed with an e-therapy programme. Why go to the trouble of joining a virtual world? I’m not sure I know the answer to this – any ideas….

Cheers, Simon

By: admin

admin — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 22:05:49 +0000

Thanks to you both for your comments, will certainly be checking out both those areas / links!

By: John Norris

John Norris — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 20:54:55 +0000

I think there is a good bit of literature out there about the more general idea of using virtual reality being used to treat disorders that require desensitisation.

There are some references to this idea in “A Second Life for eHealth: Prospects for the Use of 3-D Virtual Worlds in Clinical Psychology” (http://www.jmir.org/2008/3/e21/)

Hope that helps!

John (SL: Knoh Oh)

By: Sadiqah Intikhab

Sadiqah Intikhab — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 20:22:12 +0000

You are absolutely right. I run Phoenix Rising Clubhouse (peer run mental health support groups) and I’ve seen myself how SL has a positive influence on people that suffer from mental illnesses, especially from anxiety disorders like social anxiety and agoraphobia. I believe that SL is a powerful tool in the mental health field and will be for years to come. This is what I am studying as a masters counseling student and am trying to practice as a person with mental illness.