In the MIND lab laboratory at Jaume I University of Castellón, we have been
researching for 10 years about the possibilities that VR can offer to Clinical
Psychology as a tool for assessment and treatment, and also contemplating its
possibilities as a virtual lab to study mental processes.

We already have at our disposal virtual environments for the treatment of
acrophobia, spider phobia, fear of public speaking, claustrophobia, acrophobia,
flying phobia, panic and agoraphobia, posttraumatic stress disorder, eating
disorders, pathological grief and pathological gambling.

In the UJI MINDLAB we have developed immerse VR and telepsychology tools for the treatment of several mental disorders:

Our work involves:

• Design and validation of the software in controlled clinical trials.
• Design and validation of the assessment protocols.
• Design and validation of the treatment protocols.

We have designed and validated RV software for the following psychological problems:

• Panic disorder and Agoraphobia
• Claustrophobia
• Acrophobia
• Flying phobia
• Small animal phobia (spiders, rats, cokroaches).
• Body image in Eating Disorders Fear of public speaking

We have designed and tested another VR software: EMMA (Engaging Media for Mental Health Applications).
At the present moment we are using this software for the induction of emotions in experimental psychopathology research and for the treatment of stress related disorders like Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Adjustment Disorder (pathological grief).

This software represents a change with respect to our other software programs:

• It has five different environments: beach, countryside, snow, desert, jungle.
• It is more flexible: Real time changes to customize the software to the needs of the users (i.e. patients and therapists).
• There is the possibility of change the events that happen in the environment, adjusting them to the user: clouds, rain, wind, time speed, and even provoke an earthquake.
• It is possible to introduce personal items in the system like pictures, videos, sounds in order to make the software unique for each user.
• The immersion is achieved by means of a 4.10 x 1.35 m. screen (built by us) and a fullscreen projector. We also use home cinema sound.

We also have an Augmented Reality (AR) system for the treatment of spiders and cockroach phobia and acrophobia. This is a new kind of interaction. In AR the user does not enter the VR world, but the VR world enters the real world. This enhances dramatically immersion. We use virtual goggles that integrate the VR elements in the real world.