psychological effects of a virtual reality-based treatment

Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) has become an increasingly relevant medium for psychological interventions because it can combine immersion, controlled stimuli, and therapist-guided reflection. However, VR systems explicitly grounded in Positive Psychology remain comparatively underexplored, particularly in supervised psychotherapy settings. This paper presents Positive Psychology VR, a Unity-based VR intervention composed of eight virtual environments designed around Positive Psychology constructs, including gratitude, mindfulness, savoring, personal strengths, positive reappraisal, emotional expression, and acts of kindness. We report an exploratory pilot study with 30 adults who participated in three weekly therapist-guided sessions using a Meta Quest 3 head-mounted display, followed by a three-month follow-up. Data were collected through participant characterization, open-ended session reports, psychologist observations, acceptability records, and follow-up feedback. Results indicate high acceptability, with all participants reporting that they would recommend the experience. No serious cybersickness events were reported. Qualitative findings suggest that the intervention supported self-awareness, reflection, emotional regulation, relaxation, and changes in perspective. Nature-inspired, meditation-oriented, and strengths-based environments were among the most frequently used and were often described as memorable anchors for later recall. At follow-up, most respondents reported perceived benefits that extended beyond the sessions, although individual variability was observed. These findings suggest that Positive Psychology-oriented VR can be feasibly integrated into professionally supervised psychotherapy as an adjunctive tool for reflection and emotional well-being. The study contributes design and evaluation insights for immersive therapeutic systems and highlights the need for larger, controlled, and longitudinal studies.