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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Virtual Real.
Sec. Virtual Reality and Human Behaviour
Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frvir.2025.1462775
This article is part of the Research Topic A Metaverse for the Good: Design, Application and Understanding View all 13 articles

Developing a virtual reality application for online arts and psychomotor therapies using Action Research

Provisionally accepted
Nathalie J Nathalie J *Hans Wouters Hans Wouters Joep Kolijn Joep Kolijn Suzanne Haeyen Suzanne Haeyen
  • HAN University of Applied Sciences, Nijmegen, Netherlands

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background. Virtual Reality (VR) holds much promise for online offering of arts and psychomotor therapies. As these therapies use bodily experiences, expressive/artistic media, materials, movement, music, and (role)play, VR is more suitable than online/video consultations.Objectives. This study was set up to improve VR possibilities for arts and psychomotor therapies, with the primary aim of redeveloping and rebuilding a VR application.. Using Lewin's paradigm of Action Research in conjunction with the Lean Start up Method to develop Minimal Viable Products, we developed and built the Virtual Reality Health Experience (VRhExp), a full body multiplayer VR space providing online arts and psychomotor therapies. The Action Research concerned a one-year co-creation project involving 17 arts and psychomotor therapists (Mean age 44.1 years, SD 11.3) together with input from media designers in education and technical VR developers. The Action Research consisted of five cycles. All cycles were held in groups.Results. We redeveloped an initial multiplayer full body VRhExp application based on users' preferences, and ideas. Our participants reported becoming more proficient in using VR than at the start. Training and workshops held with arts and psychomotor therapists enhanced their knowledge of and skills in using the VRhExp. They provided input for the patient journey which was then used to develop a roadmap with the prerequisites for the implementation of the VRhExp in clinical practice. All participants indicated that the current version of VRhExp is not yet ready for use in clinical practice but appreciated that a great step forward had been made.Of the arts and psychomotor therapists who participated in the workshops, four out of five acknowledged the potential of acting and experiencing with the VRhExp (79%).The VRhExp is a promising tool for patients with psychological disorders as it enables the continuity of care provision by therapists. The VRhExp is a first step towards developing a broader landscape for offering online experiential arts and psychomotor therapies.

    Keywords: Art therapies, Psychomotor therapy, Full body multiplayer, virtual reality, e-health, Music Therapy, Dance Therapy, Drama therapy

    Received: 10 Jul 2024; Accepted: 06 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 J, Wouters, Kolijn and Haeyen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Nathalie J, HAN University of Applied Sciences, Nijmegen, Netherlands

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.