Anticipation and prevention of real risks of virtual environments in psychiatry
Extended reality (=XR) provides promising opportunities for psychiatry in the future. However, psychiatric patients appear to be particularly vulnerable to virtual exposure. With a focus on virtual embodiment and virtual social interaction, we therefore, 1. describe the specific risks of virtual exposures, 2. discuss them in relation to specific psychopathological symptoms and 3. outline initial strategies that enable safe exposure with a strong emphasis on participatory designs.
Authors
- Gerben Meynen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7298-8407)
- Maria Marloth
- Marc Erich Latoschik (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9340-9600)
- Jennifer A. Chandler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9471-4626)
- Philipp Kellmeyer
- Celia Deane-Drummond
- Kai Vogeley
Institutions
- University of Freiburg (DE)
- Forschungszentrum Jülich (DE)
- University of Mannheim (DE)
- Utrecht University (NL)
- University of Würzburg (DE)
- University Medical Center Freiburg (DE)
- Human Computer Interaction (Switzerland) (CH)
- Oxford Centre for Mission Studies (GB)
- Bruyère (CA)
- Institute of Criminology (SI)
- University Hospital Cologne (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- npj Digital Medicine
- Published
- 2026-01-30
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-026-02348-4
- Primary Topic
- Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung