1. Avatar-based therapy within prison settings: pilot evaluation.
- Author
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van Rijn, Biljana, Cooper, Mick, Jackson, Andrew, and Wild, Ciara
- Subjects
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COMPETENCY assessment (Law) , *COMPUTER software , *CORRECTIONAL institutions , *COUNSELORS , *GROUP psychotherapy , *INTERPERSONAL relations , *INTERVIEWING , *RESEARCH methodology , *PRISON psychology , *PSYCHOTHERAPY , *RESEARCH funding , *VIRTUAL reality , *QUALITATIVE research , *THEMATIC analysis , *TREATMENT effectiveness , *PRE-tests & post-tests , *DATA analysis software - Abstract
The paper presents an introduction of a newly developed, avatar-based virtual reality therapy, as an addition to the therapeutic programme, within a therapeutic community prison in the UK. The participants had six group sessions facilitated by a counsellor. The aim of the project was to investigate whether this approach would improve mental health outcomes for the prisoners, interpersonal relationships within the prison and facilitate the achievement of personal goals for the prisoners. The sample size (n = 4) was insufficient to make firm conclusions about the mental health outcomes. However, the qualitative analysis showed a strong engagement with the programme in addressing personal issues, the development of insight and empathy, and improvements in relationships within the participants and with the counsellor. Further research with a larger sample is needed to establish efficacy of this type of therapy with the prison population. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]
- Published
- 2017
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