Virtual Reality provider Tend has been working with an NHS trust in the UK to offer Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) to patients.
image: Tend VR. The mindfulness treatment includes guided breathing exercises (left) and watering plants (right)
In an article on the BBC website, one patient to receive VR mindfulness treatment on the NHS has said it had "transformed" his life.
Charlie Jenkinson is a patient of the North Yorkshire Talking Therapies team, which is the first NHS service to offer the immersive 'Tend VR' treatment. The mindfulness-based cognitive therapy guides service users through practical activities and exercises, such as breathing techniques.
Jenkinson is one of a group of 30 patients with anxiety and depression receiving the VR treatment as part of a 10-week course. "The first time I did the breath ball exercise, it was just transformative for me," Mr Jenkinson, from Stokesley, said.
The exercise encourages patients to breathe in while squeezing the trigger on one of the hand-held controllers. Set against the backdrop of a peaceful forest, they see a ball growing as they inhale and shrinking as they exhale.
Jenkinson said he often used the technique when not using the headset by closing his eyes and visualising the ball. "I'm often in the forest or I'm by the lake - I'm even moving my finger as if I'm actually using the trigger on the handset," he said. He also said the treatment had helped to relieve pain in different parts of his body.
"I couldn't believe how much that has transformed my life," he added.