Evaluating the Effects of Experiencing Virtual Reality Simulation of Psychosis on Mental Illness Stigma, Empathy, and Knowledge in Medical Students

Abstract

ObjectivesApplying technologies such as virtual reality (VR) in education has gained popularity especially in comprehending abstract and subjective phenomena. Previous studies have shown that applying a virtual reality simulation of psychosis (VRSP) is useful in increasing knowledge and empathy toward patients. Here, the efficacy of using VRSP in altering stigma, empathy and knowledge as well as side effects have been assessed in medical students in comparison with the routine education (visiting the patients).MethodAfter attending one session of lecture about positive psychotic symptoms, medical students were allocated to two groups: experiencing one session of VRSP or visiting patients under supervision as routine practice in the ward. Before and after the first session and after the second one, questionnaires of knowledge, empathy and stigma were filled by students. Finally, the results were compared in two groups.ResultsBoth interventions were effective in reducing stigma as well as increasing knowledge and empathy toward patients with psychotic experiences. VRSP could significantly reduce stigma and increase knowledge and empathy compared with the traditional visiting patients under supervision. The side effects were minimal and ameliorated right after the experience.ConclusionVRSP is an effective tool in decreasing stigma and increasing empathy and knowledge of the students and can be incorporated in psychiatric education with minimal side effects.

Virtual reality in teaching using mentally ill patient avatars

“…Andererseits zeigte sich trotz der größeren technischen Versiertheit jüngerer Generationen auch eine Überschätzung der gegenwärtigen technischen Möglichkeiten zur Interaktion mit dem Avatar. Zukünftige Entwicklungen sollten daher stärker menschenähnliche interaktive Interventionen sowie die Entwicklung und Verbesserung emotional-affektiver Avatare umfassen [ 9 , 25 ].…”

Empathy and the work of clinical psychiatrists: narrative review

“…Another way of improving empathy could be ensuring that clinicians’ knowledge and skill in descriptive psychopathology is robust (Chakraborty 2020), as this ‘opens up a world in which we attempt to understand a range of abnormal human experiences, irrespective of whether they are part of symptomatology of an illness or disorder’; the same author suggests promoting phenomenological psychopathology in training, including standards for the RCPsych's membership (MRCPsych) courses, trainees’ portfolios and reading lists for curricula/syllabuses (Chakraborty 2020). Some recent research has utilised virtual reality (VR) experiences of psychotic symptoms (Zare-Bidaki 2022), finding that, compared with observing a clinical interaction, one session of VR increased medical students’ empathy towards patients with psychotic experiences, increased knowledge about psychotic symptoms and reduced stigma.

Enhancing clinicians’ empathetic capacity Techniques for improving clinicians’ empathetic capacity – their empathetic resonance with their patients – include: actively imagining the patient's experiences and life events paying close attention to their own bodies to distinguish their feelings or sensations, to imagine what it must be like to be in different situations listening carefully to the details and context of the patient's experiences to get more detailed and vivid accounts learning to identify the patient's emotions from their narratives and non-verbal behaviour (Watson 2009)

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