The Role of Mobile and Virtual Reality Applications to Support Well-Being: An Expert View and Systematic App Review

Abstract

Interactive technologies for autonomous mental health management are on the rise due to limited therapy access and stigma. However, most commercial mental health apps are neither theory-based nor clinically tested, and psychological theories are not easily accessible to app designers. Thus, it remains unclear if current mobile and VR mental health apps meet therapists' expectations. To address this gap, we conducted interviews (N = 11) to build an understanding about current therapeutic practices with a focus on emotion regulation and their applicability to mobile apps. We then conducted a systematic app review of 60 mental-health-related mobile and VR apps applying the themes identified in our interviews as an understanding lens. We draw upon the identified discrepancies to pinpoint design implications for better embedding lived therapeutic practice into mental health apps. We contribute by providing a common grounding between therapists and developers on the features and properties of well-being mobile and VR apps.

Mood Worlds: A Virtual Environment for Autonomous Emotional Expression

“…[44,83]). On a similar note, a recent review of commercial VR well-being apps found that only one app offered the possibility to (partly) autonomously design the environment [84]. Other designers fostered autonomy by actively engaging participants during the design process of a VE, but the design could not be further adjusted after entering the VE [28].…”

“…Other designers fostered autonomy by actively engaging participants during the design process of a VE, but the design could not be further adjusted after entering the VE [28]. However, research suggests that the process of autonomously designing VEs is therapeutic in itself [84] and that emotional content should be adjusted in real-time [59].…”

“…activities, everyday objects, nature, or caregivers such as families [34]. Having the VR study in mind, we decided against adding pictures depicting humans for several reasons: therapists expressed concerns about feeling watched when avatars share a mood world [84], and research suggests that humanoid avatars could lead to several negative implications for HCI due to the uncanny valley effect such as distraction and distress [72]. Photo content was, thus, selected based on valence and arousal scores of the OASIS data base [41], depicting animals, objects and scenery.…”

“…We define autonomy as being independent and self-governing [43,76]; as having agency over one's life [74] and, in the context of this study, also over the content and design of a VR app. This lack of providing personalisation and autonomy in VR well-being apps is not only restricted to HCI research but also extends to commercially available VR apps [84]. Therefore, our work focuses on providing a VR experience for personalised, autonomous emotional expression enhancing a user's emotional well-being.…”

“…Thus, emotionally stimulating content should be adjusted in real-time if necessary [59]. Recent work suggests that becoming active in designing emotionally stimulating content is in itself therapeutic and can foster happiness [84]. To address these aspects, we developed Mood Worlds, a refined and revised version of the VR drawing application Open Brush that allows users to autonomously create a virtual environment with the purpose to express their emotions.…”