Development, implementation and evaluation ofAltered States of Consciousness: an immersive art exhibition designed to increase public awareness of psychotic experiences

Abstract

There were no conflicts of interest. Main text word count: 6498 [6500] Abstract word count: 150 [150] 2 Development, implementation, and evaluation of Altered States of Consciousness: An immersive art exhibition designed to increase public awareness of psychotic experiences Abstract Background: The arts can increase public awareness of mental health. Stigma about psychosis remains high despite common occurrences of psychotic experiences in the general population (e.g. hearing voices, seeing visions, and unusual sensory experiences). Targeted approaches may therefore benefit stigma-reduction. This project aimed to produce an immersive art installation that increased public understanding of psychotic experiences. Methods: Development stages included workshops with people with lived experience, training actors to perform 'voices', sourcing artworks, and producing a voice hearing simulation and video installation. Results: The exhibition was implemented as intended, gained positive visitor feedback (N=150), felt immersive, enhanced subjective understanding of voice hearing, increased compassion, and was not unduly stressful. A production team meeting (N=10) identified exhibition strengths, challenges, and potential modifications. Conclusions: This successful, large-scale pilot of an immersive art exhibition combined creative, academic and experiential perspectives. It enabled visitors to 'hear voices' and increased their understanding of psychotic experiences.

Impact of an auditory hallucinations simulation on trainee and newly qualified clinical psychologists: A mixed‐methods cross‐sectional study

“…Participants were asked if they, or anyone they knew, experiences voices, visions, or other unusual sensory experiences. Repeated pre‐simulation and post‐simulation 100‐point visual analogue scales (VASs; see Data S1), similar to those used previously in immersive simulation research (Riches, Maskey, et al, ; Valmaggia et al, ), asked participants to “Please mark on the line how HAPPY you feel RIGHT NOW,” from “VERY UNHAPPY” to “VERY HAPPY”; “Please mark on the line how STRESSED you feel RIGHT NOW,” from “NOT STRESSED” to “EXTREMELY STRESSED”; “Please mark on the line how much you UNDERSTAND WHAT IT FEELS LIKE to hear voices or see visions,” from “DON'T UNDERSTAND” to “UNDERSTAND VERY WELL”; “Please mark on the line how COMPASSIONATE you feel towards people who hear voices or see visions,” from “NO COMPASSION” to “VERY COMPASSIONATE”; and “Please mark on the line how COMFORTABLE you would be talking to a friend, colleague, or family member about their experience of voices or visions,” from “VERY UNCOMFORTABLE” to “VERY COMFORTABLE.” Post‐simulation, additional VAS asked “Please mark on the line how you feel your ATTITUDE towards people with unusual sensory experiences has changed as a result of this event,” from “MORE NEGATIVE” to “MORE POSITIVE”; “Please mark on the line how REAL you found the unusual sensory experiences,” from “NOT REAL” to “VERY REAL”; “Please mark on the line how much you ENJOYED the exhibition,” from “DIDN'T ENJOY” to “GREATLY ENJOYED”; and “Please mark on the line how much you LEARNED from the exhibition,” from “LEARNED NOTHING” to “LEARNED A LOT.” VAS questions were adapted from the Attitudes to Mental Illness Survey (http://content.digital.nhs.uk/pubs/attitudestomi11).…”

“…Repeated pre-simulation and post-simulation 100-point visual analogue scales (VASs; see Data S1), similar to those used previously in immersive simulation research (Riches, Maskey, et al, 2018;Valmaggia et al, 2007), asked participants to "Please mark on the line how HAPPY you feel RIGHT NOW," from "VERY UNHAPPY" to "VERY HAPPY"; "Please mark on the line how STRESSED you feel RIGHT NOW," from "NOT STRESSED" to "EXTREMELY STRESSED"; "Please…”

Internet of Things Recognition and Sensing Technology in Interactive Display Communication

“…In the Internet of Things, each object is tagged with its information. People can get the specific location of these objects and related information through identification technology [17], [18]. Of course, people can also manage equipment and personnel by computer, and control some intelligent products remotely, to obtain data and realize the information exchange between people and objects and between objects.…”

Virtual reality-based training for mental health staff: a novel approach to increase empathy, compassion, and subjective understanding of service user experience

“…Technology that simulates psychotic experiences may reduce the so-called “them-and-us” distinction between staff and service users [ 38 ]. Simulations of hallucinations, such as service users’ experiences of hearing voices, have been shown to increase subjective understanding and empathy across a range of settings [ 39 ]; they can improve compassion in the public [ 40 , 41 ] and can increase confidence in clinicians [ 2 ].…”