One for both the webVR/#webXR and the #healthtech communities...
People suffering from delusions try to keep themselves safe from what they fear may hurt them — for example, by not going outside.
They do stay safe, which reinforces this decision.
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@ProfDFreeman of @UniofOxford/@Oxford_VR_Ltd is using an @OfficialNIHR grant to see if virtual reality could help to break that cycle.
He wanted to give those people a safe way to explore the scene of the delusion (like going outside). And learn/test what’s safe.
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Here it is in his words.
psych.ox.ac.uk/research/oxfor…
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And for those of you who prefer podcasts...
I learned about this from @BBCRadio4’s programme The History of Delusions. This is the episode on the Future:
bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00…
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And the paper:
Virtual reality in the treatment of persecutory delusions: Randomised controlled experimental study testing how to reduce delusional conviction. Daniel Freeman et al, Brit J of Psych, July 2016
cambridge.org/core/journals/…
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That paper’s conclusion?
“Cognitive therapy using virtual reality could prove highly effective in treating delusions.”
Fascinating work.
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