Mental health rehabilitation
Background
In 2019, approximately 1 in 8 people, or 970 million individuals globally, had a mental health disorder, with anxiety and depressive disorders taking the lead. The year 2020 witnessed a further increase in these figures, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Initial estimates showed a 26% rise in anxiety disorders and a 28% increase in depressive disorders in just one year. This growing demand for care places a constant and escalating pressure on the mental health sector.
Extended Reality (XR) can make a valuable contribution to help alleviate this increasing pressure. Realistic scenarios can be simulated in XR, allowing patients to practice situations that they find challenging in a safe environment, after which they can apply these learned skills in their daily lives. XR thus offers several crucial advantages over traditional forms of therapy.
How does it look like?
XRehab's third use case involves the development of a virtual reality supermarket. In the context of treating psychiatric conditions, there is often a clear two-phase approach: the first phase, also known as the acute phase, focuses on medication and therapy to manage immediate symptoms and crises. This phase emphasizes stabilization and crisis intervention.
Following this acute phase is the second phase, the recovery phase. In this phase, the focus shifts from crisis management to promoting recovery and strengthening self-care abilities and self-regulation. When a patient resumes their life, they often need to relearn everyday activities such as shopping in the supermarket. This can be a complex challenge, feeling daunting and overwhelming for patients who may have been absent from society for months. Moreover, it can be time-consuming and practically challenging for therapists to personally guide each patient through such tasks.
Prototyping
To address these challenges as an occupational therapist and support the recovery phase, we have developed a virtual reality supermarket. In this virtual environment, patients can relearn shopping in a safe and controlled manner. The task is entirely flexible, and the difficulty level of the virtual supermarket can be gradually adjusted to meet the individual needs and skills of each patient. This includes the option to compare items, consider a shopping budget, and introduce or remove distracting elements. Moreover, this approach eliminates the need for therapists to be physically present during every supermarket trip. This not only allows patients to learn and grow at their own pace but also reduces the pressure on therapists. Additionally, this task is versatile and can be applied in the treatment of various psychiatric conditions such as anxiety disorders, depression, addiction issues, eating disorders, and neurological developmental disorders.
Design proces in iteration with AZ Groeninge
“Creating a virtual living environment to practice activities of daily living within the confines of a rehabilitation institution. Unlike conventional therapy, this approach aims to represent situations as realistically as possible based on the client's functional capabilities.”
— Member XRehab