Exploring the Potential for Use of Virtual Reality Technology in the Treatment of Severe Mental Illness Among Adults in Mid-Norway: Collaborative Research Between Clinicians and Researchers

Background: Virtual reality (VR) technology is not currently used in the treatment of severe mental health illness in Norway. Objective: We aimed to explore the potential of VR as a treatment for severe mental health illness in Norway, through collaborative research between clinicians and researchers. Methods: A collaborative research team was established, comprising researchers, the manager at a district psychiatric center, and the manager of the local municipal mental health service. An all-day workshop with eight clinicians—four from specialist mental health services and four from municipal mental health services—was conducted. The clinicians watched three different VR movies and after each one, they answered predefined questions designed to reflect their immediate thoughts about VR’s potential use in clinical practice. At the end of the workshop, two focus group interviews, each with four clinicians from each service level, were conducted. Results: VR technology in specialist services might be a new tool for the treatment of severe mental health illness. In municipal mental health services, VR might particularly be useful in systematic social training that would otherwise take a very long time to complete. Conclusions: We found substantial potential for the use of VR in the treatment of severe mental health illness in specialist and municipal mental health services. One of the uses of VR technology with the greatest potential was helping individuals who had isolated themselves and needed training in social skills and everyday activity to enable them to have more active social lives. VR could also be used to simulate severe mental illness to provide a better understanding of how the person with severe mental illness experiences their situation.publishedVersio

Exploring the Potential for Use of Virtual Reality Technology in the Treatment of Severe Mental Illness Among Adults in Mid-Norway: Collaborative Research Between Clinicians and Researchers

Background: Virtual reality (VR) technology is not currently used in the treatment of severe mental health illness in Norway. Objective: We aimed to explore the potential of VR as a treatment for severe mental health illness in Norway, through collaborative research between clinicians and researchers. Methods: A collaborative research team was established, comprising researchers, the manager at a district psychiatric center, and the manager of the local municipal mental health service. An all-day workshop with eight clinicians—four from specialist mental health services and four from municipal mental health services—was conducted. The clinicians watched three different VR movies and after each one, they answered predefined questions designed to reflect their immediate thoughts about VR’s potential use in clinical practice. At the end of the workshop, two focus group interviews, each with four clinicians from each service level, were conducted. Results: VR technology in specialist services might be a new tool for the treatment of severe mental health illness. In municipal mental health services, VR might particularly be useful in systematic social training that would otherwise take a very long time to complete. Conclusions: We found substantial potential for the use of VR in the treatment of severe mental health illness in specialist and municipal mental health services. One of the uses of VR technology with the greatest potential was helping individuals who had isolated themselves and needed training in social skills and everyday activity to enable them to have more active social lives. VR could also be used to simulate severe mental illness to provide a better understanding of how the person with severe mental illness experiences their situation

The effects of Routine Outcome Monitoring (ROM) in the course of an implementation process - A randomized clinical trial

This study investigated the effects of the Partners for Change Outcome Management System (PCOMS) in adult outpatient treatment at a hospital-based mental health clinic. It also investigated whether the effects differed with the timing of the treatment within a 4-year implementation period, with clients’ initial distress levels, and between therapists. Adult clients (N = 170) were randomized to treatment as usual (TAU) or routine outcome monitoring (ROM). Twenty therapists provided therapy in both conditions. Therapy outcome was measured by the Behavior and Symptoms Identification Scale (BASIS-32). Data were analyzed in a series of multilevel models (MLMs). Clients in the ROM condition were 2.5 times more likely to demonstrate improvement than those in the TAU condition. Controlling for therapist variability, the overall effect size (ES) in favor of ROM was small (d = 0.26, p = .037). The superiority for ROM over TAU increased significantly over the duration of the study. ROM effects were not moderated by clients’ initial distress levels. Differences between therapists accounted for 9%–10% of the variability in outcomes, and there were no significant differences in ROM effects between therapists. ROM was associated with better treatment outcomes independent of clients’ initial distress levels. Clients treated later in the study benefitted more from ROM than those treated earlier