KU Team Develops Virtual Reality Therapy System That Aids Clients, Therapists with Real-Time Brain Data
lients seeking therapy need to feel comfortable in an environment that is conducive to examining mental health and with a counselor they can trust. Meeting those needs can be challenging in a remote therapy environment. A University of Kansas research team has developed a virtual therapy system that addresses many of the issues of remote counseling while also providing therapists with real-time data on brain activity.
The EEG-enabled Virtual Therapy System has received a provisional patent and is being refined for wide market use. The system can take users to several virtual settings in which they meet with a counselor in the form of a VR wizard, Mother Earth figure or other avatars. And recent clinical trials show that users have believed the virtual settings address many of the problems of remote counseling.
The system originated from a personal experience of Christopher Tacca, a recent doctoral graduate of KU. Just as he was starting his studies, a tragedy occurred.