In Recreation Therapy, therapists are trained to focus on a number of functional domains. These provide a groundwork for thousands of carefully crafted therapeutic interventions, each formulated with the aim of addressing one or more of these domains.
Our goal is to assess current Recreational Therapy strategies and their target outcomes in order to function as a tool that is versatile enough to effectively address these domains. To do this, we have carefully selected a collection of experiences that are chosen especially to appeal to a diverse, aging population. Being able to individualize each session does something that is extremely difficult to do in the field of Rec. Therapy: Connect with the individual on a personal level that resonates.
Our experience so far has given us a unique glimpse into how our system can address the five domains:
Physical
With a number of objective-based programs that ask the user to engage in physical movement, we provide an exciting outlet for various types of physical activity.
Cognitive
By providing an immersive way for users to revisit things from their pasts, we can help to stimulate memory recall. By maintaining contact and initiating discussions with the user throughout their session, we establish whether or not a specific experience was effective in bringing back memories.
Psychological/ Emotional
With a variety of diverse experience to choose from, chances are that certain experiences may stimulate powerful emotions. Much like its effects on cognition, revisiting familiar destinations, or experiencing things people have always dreamed of experiencing in VR can evoke powerful emotions.
Social
Especially during group sessions, the social element of VIRTU-WELL is very apparent. Not only does the user experience an immersive world, but others are along for the ride thanks to screen mirroring. As group members gather around a television connected to our equipment, they are able to see exactly what the headset user sees. This always stimulates conversation among the group and inspires many who are reluctant to try at first.
Spiritual/ Religious
For individuals who are passionate about spiritual and/or religious pursuits, we offer a sizable collection of virtual visits to famous places of worship, religion-themed tours, trips to places of holy significance and more.
Though there is little documented research on the benefits of VR in this field, we believe our eyes. Each session brings us new insight and each interaction brings us closer to a fuller understanding of how powerful a tool this can be.