IMMERSIVE ROOM THERAPY
Second stage prototype ‘Immersive Therapy’, tested with a technician adopting Immersive Interactive technology.
Right: Heilig’s ‘Sensorama’ vision in the 1960s.
interactive platform in the mid-1970s. We could assume that there is massive scope for future applications and uses of this technology, and the breadth, or depth, of the human imagination, coupled with responsible, perhaps critical, design, may hold the key. It is important to my moral code that participants themselves are recognised as co-designers, and Immersive Interactive has recently upgraded its ‘Unity’ software package to offer a much improved ability to create and personalise dynamic content. The strength of this, as I currently see it, is that people can interact fluidly within the space, without any need for technology devices to be directly attached to them, because they become an embodied part of it. The theoretical underpinning of the research links to
enactivism, in understanding interrelations between human mind, body, and space, which takes on a special significance in immersive environments.
Psychological therapies
The PhD study will explore how immersive environments could create opportunities for healthcare providers to incorporate a new type of VR narrative technique into therapeutic interventions. To achieve this, it will engage with participants through Alliance Psychological Services, a Stockton-on-Tees based NHS-approved provider of psychological therapies which engages up to 10,000 individuals per year, including children, families, and a workplace well-being service. The research is specifically interested in the ways
immersive spaces might support those with complex mental health challenges in sharing their narratives as they move through a physical space, interacting with rich media related to their lives. Alliance director, Leanda Kane-Fidgeon, says: “This study offers an exciting opportunity to explore different ways of working at the cutting edge of therapeutic delivery. We have been working closely throughout the past year with both Tor and the University of Northumbria, and we’re extremely enthused and impressed by the approach being taken, particularly around the ethics and attention to the specific details in the co-design. While the study is still in its infancy in many ways, the feedback from our clinicians is very positive, and they can see how this
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.com THE NETWORK | JULY 2020 35
©Tor Alexander Bruce, 2020
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