This page was translated automatically from Turkish. Read the original

Bu sayfa, 26. Dünya Psikiyatri Kongresi'nde sunulan çalışmanın yapay zekâ desteğiyle hazırlanmış Türkçe özetidir. Çalışmanın sahibi sunan yazarlardır; atıf için orijinal kaynağa başvurun.

SO185

Transforming forensic mental health services through virtual reality–supported interventions: a review of the current state of the field

TRANSFORMING FORENSIC MENTAL HEALTHCARE WITH VIRTUAL REALITY-ASSISTED INTERVENTIONS: A REVIEW OF THE CURRENT STATE OF THE FIELD

Virtual reality has the potential to enhance assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation in forensic mental health, but requires careful integration with established clinical models and appropriate safety measures.

The aim of this review is to describe how virtual reality (VR) can support the transformation of forensic mental health services by increasing ecological validity, enhancing experiential learning, and enabling the assessment and treatment of complex clinical presentations in secure settings. The review examined recent empirical studies, clinical applications, and ongoing VR-based projects in forensic psychiatry, covering applications in aggression treatment, paranoia assessment, skills training, and staff training, as well as qualitative patient accounts reflecting experiential aspects. Assessment applications include risk assessment, paraphilias, substance use, paranoia, and mentalizing; treatment applications include work on empathy and theory of mind (through embodiment as a victim, witness, or child), skills training (for substance use disorder, aggression, psychosis, and decision-making), exposure therapy, and stress reduction through biofeedback. Criminological applications address scouting, memory and decision-making, and self-control; preparation for community transition involves virtual job interviews, vocational training, and leave scenarios; staff applications include interpersonal communication skills training. Reported findings suggest that VR-based interventions increase ecological validity, opportunities for experiential learning, and engagement; patients report realistic emotional responses and describe the value of graded exposure following periods of isolation. Participants in VR-supported aggression treatment reported adopting more adaptive coping strategies, suggesting behavioral generalization to daily life; staff training studies indicate that VR may enhance realism and skill acquisition compared with conventional role-play. However, increased psychological distress, the risk of retraumatization, the representativeness of environments and avatars, technological barriers, implementation complexity, and the fact that VR is among the least widely used e-health technologies in forensic mental health are highlighted as limitations. VR is positioned as a tool rather than a solution, and continued research involving co-production with patients and staff, with due attention to safety and ethics, is considered necessary.

Tüm WCP 2026 özetleri