Virtual Reality as an Innovative Tool for Youth Mental Health
Victoria J. Blondell, Nicholas D. Thomson · Encyclopedia · 2025
Virtual reality (VR) is a new technological advancement that has been at the forefront of a promising new era of technology-based psychoeducation, therapeutic practices, and interventions. VR offers the ability for individuals to enter an immersive virtual world with opportunities to engage with stimuli that exposes them to situations that otherwise cannot be created or controlled in the real world. Thus, VR presents a viable avenue for research, therapeutic treatment, and socio-emotional learning in adolescents. This entry seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of the developing landscape of virtual reality as a means of promoting mental health for youth. We illuminate the robust opportunities for utilizing this new technology in psychological treatment, education, and intervention in adolescents, as well as the unique challenges it presents, and areas that future research should explore.