Supporting Self-Injury Recovery: The Potential for Virtual Reality Intervention

In this paper, we explore the use of virtual reality (VR) in assisting individuals who self-injure. Past work on self-injury in HCI has focused almost exclusively on mobile applications and message boards. As VR systems become more common, it is worth exploring what unique affordances of the technology can be leveraged to support self-injury reduction and cessation. Research on VR intervention and self-injury treatment informed the design of three novel virtual reality experiences. Nineteen interviews were conducted with individuals with current, or a past history of, self-injury with the goals of uncovering overall impressions of the perceived efficacy of VR with this population, as well as better understanding key mechanisms which impact their experience. Our analysis reveals four key elements common across all experiences: transportation, embodiment, immersion/distraction, and sense of control, and additional themes within each unique experience. We discuss the implications of these findings for future intervention design.