Death anxiety (DA) and stress pose significant psychological challenges that negatively impact health and wellbeing. Exposure therapy—a behavioral approach that reduces fear by repeatedly and safely exposing individuals to feared stimuli—has demonstrated effectiveness in treating anxiety. However, traditional exposure methods are limited in addressing DA, as individuals cannot authentically...
Bodily illusions have been used to investigate one’s sense of self and body ownership. This study explored the effect of the height of the first-person perspective (1PP) on out-of-body experience (OBE) illusion in which participants see their backs through a head-mounted display, receive visuo-tactile stimulation, and gradually feel as if they are sitting behind themselves, experiencing a...
Near-death experiences (NDEs) and psychedelic drug experiences (YDEs) enable access to dimensions of non-ordinary sensation, perception, and insight beyond typical day-to-day phenomenology. Both are associated with a dissolution of conventional spatio-temporal conceptual distinctions, and a corresponding sense of connectedness and unity. Moreover, NDEs and YDEs have shown a remarkable ability...
Virtual Reality has emerged as a valuable tool in medical education, primarily for teaching basic sciences and procedural skills. However, its potential in clinical psychiatry, particularly in comprehending the subjective experiences of individuals with mental illness, remains largely untapped. This paper aims to address this gap by proposing a phenomenological-driven approach to the design of...
Frontiers in Virtual RealityJuly 25, 2023D. Michael Franklin, Charles Silvestro, Robert A. Carrillo et al.7 citations
Patients diagnosed with cancer experience a high degree of stress as well as side effects from treatments that can greatly impact their quality of life. Many patients experience long-term side effects such as pain, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and cognitive dysfunction. Several studies have reported that the use of virtual reality (VR) interventions show substantial benefits in reducing...
The purpose of this study was to examine whether a virtual reality plus neurofeedback (VR+NF) meditation experience (experimental condition) was more effective than a standard guided audio-only meditation (control condition) in improving mood in one hundred healthcare workers. Data collection occurred in a hospital setting between October, 2020 and March, 2021 at the height of the COVID-19...
Mindfulness is considered an important factor of an individual's subjective well-being. Consequently, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) has investigated approaches that strengthen mindfulness, i.e., by inventing multimedia technologies to support mindfulness meditation. These approaches often use smartphones, tablets, or consumer-grade desktop systems to allow everyday usage in users' private...
Research and design of virtual reality technologies with mental-health focused applications has increased dramatically in recent years. However, the applications and psychological outcomes of augmented reality (AR) technologies still remain to be widely explored and evaluated. This is particularly true for the use of AR for the self-management of stress, anxiety, and mood. In the current study,...