AWARD YEAR
2023
CATEGORY
Body
GOALS
Good Health & Well-being
KEYWORDS
Virtual reality , Therapy, mental health
COUNTRY
Norway
DESIGNED BY
Markus Haraldseid
WEBSITE
https://fornixvr.com
Fornix
A VR-based solution, known as Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET)
How does it work?
It allows patients to immerse themselves in a virtual animated environment where they can be exposed to their objects of fear in a controlled manner. With this tool in hand, professional therapists can conduct exposure therapy within the safe confines of their offices.
Why is it needed?
According to the Norwegian Institute of public health, approximately one quarter of the population will suffer from one or more anxiety disorders throughout their lifetime. The gold standard of therapy involves treating the patient using exposure therapy. In practice however, this may come with significant challenges and limitations. For example, when treating social anxiety or agoraphobia, exposure can be done by seeking out large crowds of people. Yet this is impossible to do at the office of the therapist and will often have to be done by the patient themselves, without the therapist present
How does it improve life?
Our vision is to promote a more sustainable world by helping to improve mental health worldwide. This relates directly to the 3rd United Nations sustainability goal “Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages”. We aim to help achieve this goal by broadening the available tools and resources at the therapists’ disposal when treating anxiety disorders, enabling them to better meet their patients' individual needs.