Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust is working on a study called gameChange, using VR to support people with psychosis to feel less anxious in every day situations.
The study aims to explore if virtual reality could be game changing in the treatment of social anxiety.
Led by The University of Oxford’s Department of Psychiatry, the study was launched in July, and spans across 5 locations, including Greater Manchester. It brings together a team of 15 organisations, including NHS Trusts, Universities, The Royal College of Art, the McPin Foundation, Mindtech and Oxford VR. Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH) was the first site to open in the UK, and recruited the first ever participant.
Dr Elizabeth Murphy, Trial Coordinator and Research Clinical Psychologist at Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust said “As a clinician, I chose to work in a research setting because I want to focus on developing and delivering interventions of the highest quality, so that I can meaningfully help people.”
“I also feel it is crucial to improve access to the latest developments in psychological interventions among people experiencing psychosis. Working on the gameChange trial fits with my values; it’s a cutting-edge intervention that will hopefully be widely accessible in the future.”
In VR, service users enter virtual versions of everyday situations that may make them anxious, and are encouraged to complete tasks of increasing difficulty that help people learn to feel safe.
Leo, Service User Co Producer said “When I first found out about using virtual reality in recovery work, I questioned how this would all work. After working with a team and trying out their VR software, I gave therapy a go. When I took off the headset, I felt more confident with speaking to people and using eye contact in social situations. I felt as if it had conquered a fear. I know in my heart, for a fact, that if I had found gameChange earlier, my recovery process would have taken half the time it did. It truly showed me the possibilities of using virtual reality for therapy.”
“I think gameChange is an important research project that could revolutionise the way therapy is delivered, through the use of virtual reality.”
The gameChange team is continuing to trial the VR therapy with service users. The final part of the project will see us develop an implementation package and roadmap to roll out the treatment across the NHS.
