Herons move through a lilac sky as wild flowers sway in the breeze.
Guided by a narrator, I draw my attention to the breath and focus on my virtual surroundings. Beyond the 3D hills, gentle bonfires and lofty mountains beckon me closer. I’m not quite ready to return to my office just yet.
As someone with both an overactive mind and interest in mental health innovation, I was keen to test Scenegraph Studios’ new six part virtual reality mindfulness course, designed by software engineer Nicola Honey.
Nicola founded Scenegraph with co-director Dr David Tully in 2020 after they’d become disillusioned with their day jobs as Senior Software developers.
They began their start-up journey by taking a small office within mental health charity The Open Door, just down the road from their Start Yard HQ. Here, they saw the mental health challenges people were facing post lockdown.
“We witnessed lots of issues around anxiety and confidence, particularly in young people and began to think about how we could apply technology to help,” explains Nicola.
“I’d also experienced anxiety at school. If I had to speak in front of the class I’d take the day off. As part of our research, we spoke to schools who were having to send children home due to anxiety and we became convinced of a need for more provision.”
With their lived experience, new insights and VR expertise, Scenegraph were alerted to a timely Government grant. The Mindset programme had been recently launched by Innovate UK to help grow the UK’s nascent immersive digital mental health sector.
As winners, Nicola and David received £50,000 to further develop their prototype. “It was a good day when we realised we’d got that funding as we’d previously had three bids rejected!" says Nicola.
“I’d pretty much given up before seeing this VR specific mental health call and having one last go. It’s been brilliant - not only the funding but being able to join a community of other businesses working in the space.”
Nicola adds: “There are lots of mindfulness apps out there but they’re located within your phone meaning you’re only ever one notification away from being taken out of the course, whereas with VR you’re totally immersed. We’ve also found young men respond really well to VR, due to the gamification element.”
Research from Innovate shows delivering therapies via VR can achieve outcomes two to three times faster than traditional treatments, cut wait times, improve access to services, and reduce the severity of symptoms.
“VR is also a great way to help people retain information,” Nicola adds, explaining that when it comes to learning retention, lectures are 5% successful, whereas VR can be up to 75%.
One issue Scenegraph currently faces is the slow adoption of VR. Headsets are expensive and for most, VR is an alien concept. Currently only 6% of us have access to such technology.
“We’re working towards a future where VR is more available,” Nicola says. “We’ve found that when people try VR they’re often surprised at how much they enjoy it. I’ve been in meetings with people who’ve moved from arm-crossed cynicism to reluctance to leave for the real world.’”
For Nicola, VR isn’t a replacement for current mental health interventions, rather an add-on. After testing the courses I’d agree. My anxiety reduced after the six sessions and I enjoyed the novel approach. Whether I’d spend £400 on a headset, I’m not sure.
“We’re currently looking at how we can become an NHS provider and have been learning through the programme about how you would class a headset as a medical device and paths to commercialisation,” Nicola says.
Feedback from testers of Scenegraph courses has been positive. “The response has given us lots to work on, but each participant has got significantly better, which is really exciting.”
So what’s next for Nicola and Scenegraph? “We keep having to reign ourselves in,” Nicola says, admitting they’ve just moved into a larger office.
“There are so many use cases for VR, from helping those with dementia to people who’ve lost limbs, but we’re currently focused on developing our suite of VR technologies which contain our mindfulness course. It’s an exciting time!”
Mindfulness matters
Phil Bridges on the meditation mantra of the moment
“Like many, I’ve enjoyed mindfulness through various apps but am also aware of the criticisms surrounding its western appropriation - or ‘McMindfulness’ as it’s been termed.
"The McMindfulness concept suggests that while mindfulness has grown in popularity, it has been extracted from its Buddhist roots and turned into a commodity.
"Whilst mindfulness isn’t a panacea for all mental health problems, I’ve found it useful as part of a wider wellbeing toolkit - alongside CBT, counselling, medication, exercise, sleep, connection and nutrition.
"The simple act of bringing yourself into the present moment can be powerful, for too much past or future can be the enemy of good mental health."
Lead image credit: Pete Carr
See Scenegraph's VR work for yourself over at the Spirit VR website
Learn more about the work Scenegraph Studios is doing here
Phil Bridges is founder of mental health organisation, The Mind Map
