Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit staff at Combined are the first to become involved in a pilot program of Virtual Reality Wellbeing Sessions delivered in partnership with Phase Space VR.
Phase Space’s unique approach uses Virtual Reality to supercharge stress and anxiety relief in minutes, with effects that last. Driven by cutting-edge innovation, it combines immersive technology, world-class content design and evidence-based therapeutic techniques.
In the pilot, staff will have the opportunity to de-stress and reduce anxiety by using a VR headset to experience a short calming experience in which they enter a virtual reality world consisting of an imagined welcome hall, relaxing graphics and soothing commentary.
The aim of the pilot is to assess the degree and speed which this experience can reduce feelings of anxiety or distress amongst frontline staff encountering stressful or challenging situations.
The first weekly session will take place on 19th of February 2024 and staff will have opportunity to immerse themselves into a short calming experience. An evaluation will then take place of the effectiveness with a view to potentially expanding this out to other staff within the trust.
About Combined Virtual Reality (CVR)
The Phase Space VR pilot is the latest in a series of initiatives and innovations introduced by Combined Healthcare as part of its Combined Virtual Reality (CVR) programme.
Other CVR initiatives include:
- VR Delirium Training – a highly innovative training VR film to help frontline healthcare staff create conversations, increase understanding and empathy towards those with delirium and encourage us all to ‘think delirium’
- Mental Health Reflections – a truly groundbreaking multi-media exhibition to mark the NHS 75th anniversary – including a virtual reality experience delivered in partnership with Staffordshire University
- VR walkthrough library -a library of Virtual Reality Walkthroughs being built to provide engaging and informative experiences of our facilities and locations
- VR events – virtual reality experiences of our main Trust events, available as livestreams or catch-up on demand, such as our annual staff REACH Awards and our public Trust Board. This includes global superstar Robbie Williams in a special version of Angels – performed by Robbie and the dDeaflinks Choir – presented at the REACH 2023 ceremony in a special Virtual Reality format.
Click here to find all about the Combined Virtual Reality programme