Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) environments are increasingly being used to provide therapy to those suffering from mental health problems. Virtual environments can provide a safe and realistic simulation to expose patients to the cause of their problem. This paper presents a review of the use of 3D environments to assess and treat mental health problems. Within the review applications to treat mental health problems such as post-traumatic disorder, autism and phobias are described. The areas reviewed in this paper describe more recent works in the area of three-dimensional interfaces for the treatment of mental health problems.

Key words: Mental health, virtual reality therapy, three-dimensional (3D) games.