Immersive Positive Psychological Interventions: a qualitative measuring in a controlled VR trial
Resumo
Immersive virtual reality (VR) platforms have matured to the point where they can host evidence-based psychological interventions with high ecological validity and low logistical cost, yet few studies have examined their feasibility within routine clinical practice in Brazil. We introduce [OMMITTED DUE TO BLIND REVIEW], a suite of eight purpose-built environments grounded in the DAHLIA protocol, and report the first controlled pilot trial of the system in an outpatient setting. Thirty adults completed up to three therapist-guided VR sessions on a Meta Quest 3; eighteen of them experienced the flagship Japanese-Garden scene analyzed here. Pre-/post mood ratings, session-by-session qualitative feedback and adverse-event logs were collected. Across all exposures no moderate or severe cybersickness was recorded. Immediate affective change was uniformly neutral-to-positive, with 72% of sessions producing a shift of at least one valence category (e.g. "anxious" → "calm"). Qualitative comments became progressively more elaborate and immersive across sessions, suggesting a familiarity-driven gain in presence and engagement. The findings demonstrate that strengths-oriented VR can be delivered safely, acceptably and with preliminary mood benefits in Brazilian clinical practice. They lay the groundwork for larger randomized trials to establish long-term efficacy and optimal dosing schedules.
Palavras-chave:
virtual reality therapy, Positive psychology, Clinical pilot study
Referências
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L. Zajac-Lamparska, M. Wilkosc-Debczynska, A. Wojciechowski, M. Podhorecka, A. Polak-Szabela, L. Warchol, K. Kedziora-Kornatowska, A. Araszkiewicz, and P. Izdebski, “Effects of virtual reality-based cognitive training in older adults living without and with mild dementia: a pretest–posttest design pilot study,” BMC research notes, vol. 12, pp. 1–8, 2019.
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S. Riches, L. Azevedo, L. Bird, S. Pisani, and L. Valmaggia, “Virtual reality relaxation for the general population: a systematic review,” Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, vol. 56, pp. 1707–1727, 2021.
X. Wang, Y. Shi, B. Zhang, and Y. Chiang, “The influence of forest resting environments on stress using virtual reality,” International journal of environmental research and public health, vol. 16, no. 18, p. 3263, 2019.
C. Song, H. Ikei, and Y. Miyazaki, “Physiological effects of nature therapy: A review of the research in japan,” International journal of environmental research and public health, vol. 13, no. 8, p. 781, 2016.
A. Kemeny, J.-R. Chardonnet, and F. Colombet, “Reducing cybersickness,” Getting Rid of Cybersickness: In Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Simulators, pp. 93–132, 2020.
M. A. Cohn, M. E. Pietrucha, L. R. Saslow, J. R. Hult, and J. T. Moskowitz, “An online positive affect skills intervention reduces depression in adults with type 2 diabetes,” The journal of positive psychology, vol. 9, no. 6, pp. 523–534, 2014.
L. Rebenitsch and C. Owen, “Review on cybersickness in applications and visual displays,” Virtual reality, vol. 20, pp. 101–125, 2016.
M. H. Kunst, J. M. X. Teixeira, F. F. Peres, and C. R. Mauricio, “Toward safe and comfortable vr-based positive psychotherapy,” in 2025 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW), pp. 319–321, IEEE, 2025.
S. Kaplan, “The restorative benefits of nature: Toward an integrative framework,” Journal of environmental psychology, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 169–182, 1995.
A. P. Anderson, M. D. Mayer, A. M. Fellows, D. R. Cowan, M. T. Hegel, and J. C. Buckey, “Relaxation with immersive natural scenes presented using virtual reality,” Aerospace medicine and human performance, vol. 88, no. 6, pp. 520–526, 2017.
M. Lorenz, J. Brade, P. Klimant, C.-E. Heyde, and N. Hammer, “Age and gender effects on presence, user experience and usability in virtual environments–first insights,” PloS one, vol. 18, no. 3, p. e0283565, 2023.
E. Von Elm, D. G. Altman, M. Egger, S. J. Pocock, P. C. Gotzsche, and J. P. Vandenbroucke, “The strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology (strobe) statement: guidelines for reporting observational studies,” The lancet, vol. 370, no. 9596, pp. 1453–1457, 2007.
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Publicado
30/09/2025
Como Citar
KUNST, Marina Holanda; SILVA, Eliane De Holanda; PERES, Fabiana; NUNES, Fatima; TEIXEIRA, João Marcelo.
Immersive Positive Psychological Interventions: a qualitative measuring in a controlled VR trial. In: SIMPÓSIO DE REALIDADE VIRTUAL E AUMENTADA (SVR), 27. , 2025, Salvador/BA.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2025
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p. 607-616.
