Virtual therapy 'helps with depression', researchers say

[annie]

A new therapy which involves a patient embodying themselves in a virtual reality avatar of a crying child could help with depression, research has suggested.

Patients wear a headset that projects a life-sized image, firstly of an adult and then of a child.

The new research tested the technology for the first time on patients with a mental health problem.

The project is part of a continuing study at University College London.

The university, which is working in collaboration with ICREA-University of Barcelona, has suspected for several years that virtual therapy could help with mental health conditions.

This latest research - which has been published in the British Journal of Psychiatry Open and was funded by the Medical Research Council - lays the basis for a large-scale clinical trial to be carried out in the future.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35558447