Virtual Reality to help with young people’s mental health

On Saturday 25th June 2022 Wirral Youth Spaces launched their new youth offer with a party in Birkenhead park. The party had lots of activities, some including wall climbing, yoga, skating and a visit from some of the emergency services. One of the activities available to the public was a virtual reality experience set up by Scenegraph Studios.

Scenegraph Studios are a team that are dedicated to creating creative and immersive experiences which include 360 tours, animation, game and web development and even virtual reality development. Scenegraph Studios use VR experiences to help with mental health and confidence by creating simulations to mirror situations that could be difficult for someone, such as public speaking.

An example of this is SpiritVR which is a VR experience that can help with mindfulness - in their words ‘A new, innovative suite of virtual reality experiences to help people of all ages overcome stress and social anxieties.’ To find out more about SpiritVR or virtual reality for mental health check out their website and YouTube channel. 

Young Reporter, Helen chatted to Dave, from Scenegraph, to ask a few questions about the VR experiences that were available to try at the party. 

HELEN: Why did you set up Scenegraph and have you always wanted to go into VR?

DAVE “I set this up to help with mental health, anxiety, sensory needs and public speaking by using different simulations. We have only travelled to around 3 events and we are only a small team of 3, 4 next week. I used to teach things around VR but then I left to focus on this (scenegraph). I spotted that not many people were linking mental health and VR, we are making it to help young people. 

HELEN: How is this helping with kids' mental health?

DAVE “It has been going for 8 months so far and the charities we have worked with have given us lots of good feedback but obviously so far it is only a one session thing so we are looking at creating longer courses surrounding mental health. We are working with Upton Hall School to build a six week course to help with long term things.”

HELEN: If you had to sum Scenegraph Studios up in no more than 5 words, what would they be?

DAVE: “Using virtual reality for good.”