Which role can art and VR play in the treatment of psychiatric patients? This is the premise of the Soulhacker research project.

 

The artists of CREW, in collaboration with teachers and students of RITCS, will develop virtual environments in which neurologists and psychologists (represented by Brai3n, Dr. Georges Otte, Dr. Dirk De Ridder and Dr. Sven Vanneste) will guide and treat patients.

 

Regular psychotherapy enlarges the affective distance between the actual memory and the overwhelming emotional response caused by the reactivation of that memory. Within the context of a healing process this often does not suffice and other means have to be employed. For example the rate of success in treating depression through classical methods is very low. 

Soulhacker aims to realize a different kind of virtual research environment which allows direct connections to be created between individual emotions and the virtual environment.

 

You can find the original article here (which includes a video lecture on the topic).