Virtual Reality in Depressive and Anxiety Symptomatology – Contributions to REVIDA project from a mobile app mapping

The worldwide prevalence of mental health diseases is alarming. 792 million individuals have a mental disorder such as anxiety or depression. Treatment varies among the types of illness. They can be expensive and, in order to be effective, must address a combination of psychotherapy and medications. The drugs used for treating symptoms present a risk of negative side effects. Studies have shown the benefits of other co-therapies such as physical exercise. In this case, the ability to simulate reality can strongly increase the introduction of other psychological therapies and treatment results can be improved through new immersive experiences. Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy has demonstrated its effectiveness by allowing patients to gradually face fearful stimuli or stressful situations. Recent studies showed that the use of Virtual Reality is effective and safe for mental health. Particularly, in the scenario of how Virtual Reality simulation could increase empathy and behaviour change. This article presents a preliminary study of the REVIDA project: It aims to investigate through Benchmarking and SWOT Analysis the possible integration of Virtual Reality in mental illness monitoring in Portugal. Results show that there exist several new opportunities for using Virtual Reality technology in mental health and wellbeing.