The British Journal of Psychiatry has published a study which shows virtual reality therapy may lead to reductions in paranoia for those suffering from it.
The research was led by Oxford University and funded by the Medical Research Council. It tested 30 patients attending treatment services, all of whom experienced a virtual reality simulation.
Patients were put in virtual situations that would usually make them feel anxious, such as a train journey, with an increasing number of computer generated characters featuring throughout.
Virtual reality is proving extremely effective in the assessment and treatment of mental health problems.
The patients were split into groups, with one group being told to behave as they normally would in the situations. The other was encouraged to drop their defences and try to learn they were safe by approaching the computer characters and holding stares or standing toe-to-toe with them.
The study found that in both cases, paranoia was reduced. Half of patients who had tested their fears with the computer characters had no severe paranoia by the end of the testing day.
Dr Kathryn Adcock, head of neurosciences and mental health at the Medical Research Council, said: “Virtual reality is proving extremely effective in the assessment and treatment of mental health problems.