Virtual reality applications for patients with schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that is characterized by disturbances in general cognition, such as abnormal expressions of emotion and ways of thinking, mental derangement, regression from reality, strange language or behavior, and delusion or illusion. Family-based interventions, cognitive behavioral therapy, symptom- focused interventions, and social skills training are required for schizophrenic patients to return to normal life. Virtual reality is a medium that can present social and emotional situations via effective human-computer interactions that provide more realistic stimuli than the pictures or movies that are used in existing psychiatric therapy. Using conventional cognitive-behavioral therapy, it is difficult to obtain objective measurements. In addition, it is difficult to provide emotional or social situations. Virtual reality techniques can computerize various parameters so that objective measurements are possible; they can also provide emotional or social situations. Recently, virtual reality techniques have been used in the psychiatric field for effective training and objective assessment, such as in cognitive-behavioral therapy, social skills training, and medication training. In this paper, we describe the potential applications of virtual reality for patients with schizophrenia. More interactive and effective applications for patients with schizophrenia will emerge as virtual reality techniques continue to evolve.