Intrapersonal emotion regulation training in virtual reality: embodying self-talk

This paper explores a method for enhancing intrapersonal emotion regulation skills through self-talk in virtual reality. Difficulty regulating emotions is a pervasive aspect of psychopathology and can be improved through clinical therapeutic work. Here, we employed virtual reality and the technique of body ownership illusions to create a conversation between two virtual representations of the self, using an application known as ConVRSelf (Conversations with yourself in Virtual Reality). Forty-seven healthy participants (85% female, average age 22.9 ± 3.98) watched a short psycho-education video about intrapersonal emotion regulation skills, including awareness, acceptance, distraction, and self-soothing behaviors, based on the first steps of the Safety Plan Intervention (Stanley et al. in J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 48:1005–1013, 2009). They were then randomly assigned to practice these strategies while discussing a current difficulty in their life utilizing a virtual reality scenario that enables self-talk while alternating between two avatars (experimental group) or the empty chair technique (control group). Results suggested that both groups showed a long-lasting improvement in intrapersonal emotion regulation skills and a reduction of self-reported symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, with a possible advantage for the ConVRSelf method. This suggests a new potential use of virtual reality for improving emotion regulation skills, which could be relevant for a spectrum of psychiatric disorders.