Virtual Reality Training in Job Interviewing for People with Mental Health Disorders or Disabilities

Abstract

Job interviewing is often the first big hurdle for people seeking employment and may be especially difficult for someone with a psychiatric disorder or disability. Performing well in a job interview often requires coping with the emotional demands of the interaction and having the necessary social skills to establish rapport with the interviewer in order to present oneself in a favorable way. Virtual Reality Job Interview Training (VR-JIT) was created specifically for people with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) and other potential employment handicaps (e.g., physical disability, felony convictions, first job) to help them overcome their fears, learn the necessary skills, and develop self-confidence to do well during a job interview. The chapter begins by reviewing vocational rehabilitation services for individuals with SPMI, explains the scientific foundations of the VR-JIT training program, describes the special features of the online tool, and presents research findings on its acceptability and efficacy among individuals with SPMI and other disabilities. The authors observed that trainees largely adhered to VR-JIT and could master the skills and earn excellent scores by the end of training. VR-JIT had a moderate to large effect on improving job interview skills in live role-play interviews and increasing self-confidence for job interviews. Moreover, 6-month follow-up survey results suggest that VR-JIT increased access to employment or other competitive volunteer positions as well as reduced the number of weeks to obtaining their employment goal