Virtual Reality Resilience Training
for Healthcare Providers
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many healthcare workers were understandably greatly affected by the stress of working on the frontlines, and are even now continuing to experience persistent fatigue, burnout, and anxiety.
As part of a research study, we are offering a 6-week workshop, which focuses on teaching techniques that may help healthcare workers manage this stress.
During the past 5 years, we have developed and tested a workshop that introduces techniques to participants that are known to increase emotional resilience by enhancing certain abilities and mental states such as mindfulness, positive mood, compassion, and self-efficacy. We have recently adapted this program to be delivered using an immersive multi-user virtual reality (VR) application. An advantage of VR-delivery is that it allows participants to be relatively anonymous, since everyone joins the workshop as a customizable avatar.
The VR app also allows each person who participates to join from their home or anywhere they are, using a VR headset. Each participant will be loaned a VR headset for the duration of the workshop and represented as a virtual character or “avatar” of their choosing in the virtual meeting room. There will be up to 9 workshop participants and two co-leaders at each session.
This intervention is comprised of techniques derived from four established therapeutic approaches: Mindfulness, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Mentalization Based Treatment (MBT) and Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC).
Our goal is to use this approach to bring healthcare providers together who are not able to meet in person and to provide those who are struggling with tools that may be helpful.
To enroll:
If you or someone you know is interested in joining the Virtual Reality Resilience Training workshop, please email or call Katherine Dokholyan to enroll.