MEDIA RELEASE – SEPTEMBER 11, 2025 – R0101
For many children and teens, virtual reality (VR) headsets are a gateway to immersive video game worlds.
But Nicole Luke thinks they could also open the door to better mental health.
“There’s a different kind of experience in this type of space. VR is a tool that can give anxious youth a safe space to express themselves and test out new behaviours,” says the Brock University Assistant Professor of Applied Disabilities Studies.
Luke and her team partnered with Pathstone Mental Health — which offers a range of services tailored to children, youth and families in Niagara — to study the use of VR in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) counselling sessions for children and adolescents.
Pathstone CEO Shaun Baylis says the organization aims to engage in research that develops “innovative, evidenced-based, effective and high-quality methods of service delivery.”
“We are further committed to reducing barriers to services and saw this project as meeting those priorities,” he says. “We are thrilled to partner in research with Brock around VR therapy as a way of growing the field for our community and beyond.”
Luke’s team included then-Applied Disability Studies master’s students Gifty Owusu (MA ’24) and Qi Wan (MADS ’23) as well as Samantha Allcock, System Performance Co-ordinator at Pathstone. The group also worked with XpertVR, a VR company Luke has collaborated with on previous research.
The study involved seven Pathstone clients ranging from eight to 16 years old receiving in-person CBT treatment for anxiety and two mental health therapists with experience delivering CBT to adolescents.
CBT is a type of psychotherapy where negative thoughts and feelings are challenged and replaced with helpful thinking patterns, leading to positive behaviour change. Therapists assign exercises between sessions for clients to achieve these goals.
The team outfitted clients and therapists with head-mounted display devices consisting of headsets and hand controllers along with software called Engage to support single-player and multi-player access to virtual environments.
After being trained in how to use the technology, clients and therapists conducted CBT-VR sessions lasting 10 to 20 minutes at a time taking place over a time period ranging from six weeks to a school year.
Pre- and post-study questionnaires surveyed participants’ experiences and satisfaction levels with using VR in counselling sessions.
Luke says feedback from the children and teens was largely positive.
“We did see some differences in how clients behaved with the counsellors and other people in the VR setting compared to real life,” she says. “The youth were more forthcoming and engaged — they talked and interacted more than they did in real life.”
One possible reason for this, says Luke, could be clients were allowed to construct their own avatars to represent themselves. Some clients created a figure closely resembling themselves while others chose an object to represent them.
The therapist also created an avatar, so at some points, the two avatars would interact.
“This configuration creates a bit of distance or anonymity,” says Luke. “Nobody’s looking at you physically, they’re looking at your avatar, so that takes the pressure off the clients and makes a safe space for them to try something new or challenge themselves.”
Eventually the client and therapist would reconnect with each other face to face to discuss homework assignments and other issues.
The therapists initially felt intimidated by the new technology but soon learned to adapt, Luke says.
Baylis says Pathstone’s clients “were interested and engaged in this method of treatment.”
“As a therapist, it offered challenges and opportunities to extend the therapy space,” he says. “It was exciting to participate and be part of the possibilities this offers the therapy experience.”
The team is in the process of compiling their results for an academic journal.
The study, “Delivery of Mental Health Services for Ontario Youth Using CBT in Virtual Reality,” was funded by grants from TD Bank and the Knowledge Institute on Child and Youth Mental Health and Addictions, a department of the Ottawa-based Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario.
This work builds on the foundation of a 2019 Memorandum of Understanding between Brock and Pathstone Mental Health, which formalized a shared commitment to advancing mental health research, education and community outreach across Niagara.
For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:
*Sarah Ackles, Communications Specialist, Brock University [email protected] or 289-241-5483
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