Empathy, or the capacity to comprehend and empathize with another person’s feelings, is a crucial element of any change process. At Project Socrates, we are aware of the importance of empathy, particularly in the management of challenging conditions like obesity. To promote greater empathy for oneself and others, we use immersive virtual reality (IVR).
Because it enables obese patients to view and experience their bodies in a new and unbiased way, the use of IVR in the treatment of obesity is revolutionary. IVR enables patients to view their customized avatar from a third-person perspective rather than through a mirror, which can be distorted by self-stigma and shame. This may aid patients in developing a more sympathetic and objective understanding of their bodies, which will improve how they perceive themselves.
IVR can also be used to develop empathy for other people. Patients can interact with representations of others who also struggle with obesity through the use of personalized avatars. These interactions can make patients feel more understood and less alone, which can be a powerful motivator for change.
And finally, IVR can assist patients in imagining how they would look and feel if they started living healthier lives. As they can see a healthier and happier version of themselves, this may increase their motivation to change.
In short, IVR provides a potent method to cultivate empathy, which is a critical component of obesity treatment. At Project Socrates, we think that IVR can be a critical tool for assisting obese individuals in growing their empathy for both themselves and others, which can lead to healthier and longer-lasting behavioural changes.
References:
- Slater, M. et al. (2010). Inducing Illusory Ownership of a Virtual Body. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 3(2), 214-220.
- Slater, M. et al. (2014). Virtual Reality in the Assessment, Understanding, and Treatment of Mental Health Disorders. Psychological Medicine, 44(14), 3137-3147.
About the author
Elena Álvarez de la Campa Crespo has a PhD in Computational Biology at the Universitat de Barcelona (2019). She is graduated in Biotechnology (2013) and with a Master in Genetics and Genomics (2014). Her doctoral research in the field of computational biomedicine, carried out at Vall d’Hebrón Research Institute (VHIR) and at Centro de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), has revolved around understanding the molecular bases of specific systems and characterizing the impact of genomic sequence variants, with a strong focus on knowledge, determination and computational prediction of protein structures and their molecular modelling. A central axis of her research has been the creation of machine learning models to improve the annotation of genomic sequence variants in sequencing projects, increasing the scope of in silico tools in the clinical environment. All the knowledge gained during her research, a rigorous scientific approach and her first-level analytical and problem-solving skills, have contributed to become part of Virtual Bodyworks. Her role in the company is to be an analyst and data scientist, specialist in Artificial Intelligence, and to manage leading projects in the field, adapted to the creation of Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) applications for medical and social rehabilitation purposes. Both professional careers have endowed her with a great capacity for working on collaborative projects with higher research institutions and also with a considerable experience in grant management, especially European Grants (Horizon 2020, EIT, Interreg-POCTEFA).