I am doing a bit of research in this area as I have had a few Ideas on a VR Therapy app suite that I am hoping to develop with the agency I own in the near future. I have friends who suffer from PTSD, Depression, Severe Anxiety, Phobias etc (I myself have been subject to bouts of depression and anxiety in my earlier years) It will be non-profit and open sourced. We are also thinking of working with charities to bring VR technology and its therapeutic benefits to areas where it might have been prohibitively expensive before.
Have you had any experience with VR therapy? Have you hoped it were available to you? Do you think it could be of benefit to you or people you might know?
My Dad, a Psychologist and gamer would be interested in this. I'll be showing him the Rift next time he visits and I'm positive this will come up in discussion.
Remember in the Fallout games where in the intro they would make you take a GOAT or other set of questions to help you determine your character? It inspired him during his thesis.
There was this standard psychology test where a scenario is described and the patient answers questions about it. Problem is that answers are stream-of-consciousness and it becomes difficult to objectively compare results across a population. So he came up with a way to make the same test multiple choice.
VR is MUCH more important than just gaming - and immersive recreational activities with vr are important, of course. It offers practical ways to make real, meaningful and valuable contributions to many lives.