OxfordVR

When most of us think about Virtual Reality (VR), it’s likely we wouldn’t think about it as more than just an immersive way to play video games.

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These days in fact, doing deep-sea dives and mystery games has never been more fun, terrifying, and in general – close to reality.

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However, Oxford VR is innovatively redefining how this reality can be used to support individuals on a personal scale.

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Though companies such as Oculus and PlayStation (Sony) dominate VR’s use in the gaming market, Oxford VR– who work in partnership with the NHS and AXA – have found ways to benefit the world around them by encouraging those with anxious social avoidance to interact with the “world”, through virtual scenarios.

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With their 2020 release of ‘social engagement™’, the innovative tech company claim that their virtual product will be able to benefit those who battle with commonplace mental illnesses.

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As stated on their website:

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‘Anxious social avoidance is one of the most debilitating features of mental illness and is prevalent in multiple mental health conditions including agoraphobia, panic disorder, social anxiety, depression and schizophrenia.

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‘During a session, the user puts on a headset and enters a virtual world.

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‘They are guided by a virtual coach and required to complete a series of graded tasks, in different situations such as a street scene, a bus and a shop – reflecting the everyday triggers of anxious social avoidance.’

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Not only does this innovation allow those suffering with anxious social avoidance to interact with this reality from the comfort of their own home, but it provides them with a support system through a far less intimidating portal of interaction.

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Although VR is often scarily close to the “real thing”, its clear likeness to reality means that those suffering from such mental illnesses can equip themselves to combat the ‘everyday triggers’ of anxious social avoidance.

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For those that live on their own or perhaps in an environment alien to them, sometimes the most daunting things are as simple as going to the shops or catching a train.

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That’s why, particularly as the current socio-cultural climate remains fractured, companies such as Oxford VR are innovatively producing products such as social engagement™ to help those battling what are commonplace mental health illnesses.

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Oxford VR confirms that their product is ‘available to NHS patients via providers of NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapies and other UK mental healthcare providers’.