Using Virtual Reality in College Student Mental Health Treatment

Abstract

When students leave home to attend college, they encounter many adjustments and new experiences. Some students have difficulty coping with the challenges they experience and over time may develop mild to severe mental health issues. Mental health illness among college students is associated with long-term adverse academic outcomes, including dropout. With an exponential rise in mental health issues among university students, there is a dire need to reach out to newer technologies to help students effectively cope with academic and social challenges. Given the increased accessibility and practicality of virtual reality (VR) use in mental health, it becomes paramount to extend the utility of VR to university counselling settings including the preliminary assessment, diagnosis, and treatment strategies to guide students to effectively address any mental health challenges. There are potential implications and challenges associated with the use of VR within universities' counselling settings as well.