Virtual reality interventions for the treatment of psychiatric disorders: A qualitative review of clinician and patient user’s experience

Virtual reality interventions are being increasingly utilized for clinical purposes, including in the field of mental health. Guidelines for the use of virtual and digital health interventions highlight the importance of including end-user feedback in the design of such interventions, so the intervention becomes more feasible, usable and acceptable. This systematic review had the aim to identify qualitative literature about end-user perceptions of the acceptability and usability of VR interventions for psychiatric disorders. From an initial pool of 779 studies of this nature, eleven were included in this review. The information from all studies was organized, synthetized, and analyzed qualitatively through thematic analysis. A thematic structure comprised by six themes was identified, which highlighted how VR allows for an alternative and safe treatment, provides alternate scenarios where symptoms and emotions are manageable, and promotes mental and emotional clarity. Also, patients mentioned a need for balanced virtual treatments in terms of realistic and imaginary settings, as well as customizable and accessible treatments. Overall, VR interventions for psychiatric disorders are generally acceptable and usable for patients and healthcare providers.