Funder: Immersive Interactive.

Team: Tor Alexander Bruce, John Vines, Annessa Rabair (Northumbria University); Immersive Interactive; Alliance Psychological Services.

Timeframe: 2019-2022

This PhD research is multi-disciplinary, involving one of the UK’s leading virtual reality technology companies, Immersive Interactive, and Alliance Psychological Services, a mental health service provider based in Teeside. The research is exploring the role and efficacy of human-centred immersive virtual environments (IVEs) in the context of mental health interventions, responding to a pressing social issue of increasing numbers of individuals presenting health challenges of this nature. Over three years, the project will involve conduct of qualitative research and co-creative design work with mental health therapists and clinicians, and studying the efficacy of IVEs for person-centered mental healthcare for people with childhood trauma.