Applications of 3D Simulation in Mental Health: Utilities and New Developments

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During the last two decades, there has been growing interest in psychology and psychiatry in the use and possible applications of Virtual Reality and, in general, procedures using 3D simulation environments as a tool applied to both evaluation and treatment of psychopathological disorders. It is well known that the enormous advances in recent years in development of 3D simulation environments have made them increasingly similar to real life, and the flexibility in creating new and ever more complex Virtual Reality programs has made it easier to apply this type of procedure as a supporting tool for intervention in the study, treatment and evaluation of a wide variety of mental disorders. It should be mentioned that the use of this type of technology is not proposed as a replacement for traditional intervention procedures and evaluation methods, but as a tool to be used within the framework of treatment or evaluation used, whether cognitivebehavioral or other. Therefore, it should be emphasized that the use of 3D simulation environments in clinical practice be understood exclusively in the context of the psychotherapeutic orientation used, where this technique would make senses along with the rest of the practices included in each intervention framework. Its use is therefore not considered alone or as a replacement for other evaluation and treatment procedures used. As many other researchers in the field of Virtual Reality have mentioned, the use of this type of technology has numerous advantages over traditional treatment and evaluation systems. Some of the main advantages of its use are (Scozzary & Gamberini, 2011; Adams et al., 2009; Botella et al., 2007; Perpina et al., 2003): 1. Experiences similar to real life. The main characteristic of this technology is that it allows a person to experience something similar to what he might in the real world if he were in that context. Thus VR can cause the same emotions, thoughts, and behavioral responses in general, as if the person were exposed to the real context that is being simulated by VR. 2. Safety of the Virtual World. VR environments are presented as a safe context where the person is not exposed to the risks that he would be in the real world. In this sense, the person immersed in the virtual world can experience emotions, thoughts and react knowing that nothing in the virtual environment that really frightens him in the real world can cause him any harm, which allows the context of therapy to be perceived by the person as a safe environment where he can behave freely and without any risk.