VR tackles school anxiety
A group of local teenagers wanted to do something that would help other students who, like them, had experienced anxiety in school – so they volunteered to create Virtual Reality (VR) videos that won them a major prize last week.
The creators – two groups from Galway and Roscommon, working with Child & Adult Mental Health Services (CAMHS) – had all experienced school anxiety and knew how quickly it can escalate causing significant difficulties and distress.
They choose VR because of its appeal to young people, the promising results from research with adults and the increased affordability of VR headsets.
In summer 2020, the team created a character called Dala, invented a backstory and spent weeks answering the question... ‘how does anxious Dala get to school?’
This generated unique insights into school anxiety, what helps and what doesn't – finding that the most powerful triggers are not the school environment,t but internal thoughts or worries: about fitting in, friendships, being judged, shamed or embarrassed.
This in turn informed the VR design which recreates the external world of school, but more importantly, Dala's internal world of thoughts, feelings, physical and emotional responses.
When the user puts on the VR headset, they are immersed in Dala's mind and body as Dala responds to anxiety in helpful and unhelpful ways. This simulated exposure to a feared situation (school) can reduce or eliminate the fear/anxiety response.
“The two groups met over the summer in the South Galway CAMHS clinic in Merlin Park and in the Roscommon clinic in Roscommon town. We also had a group virtually,” explained CAMHS Senior Occupational Therapist Niamh Morrin.
The results from prototype testing with young people both in and out of CAMHS was very positive as 100% believed it could help school anxiety and 45% reported a reduction in anxiety while using the VR. Last week, the CAMHS Dala Project received a Healthtech Award for its success, at a ceremony in Croke Park.