Interview with Dr Kate Anthony

So, today Virtually better interviewed Dr Kate Anthony to find out how VR can work as a therapy for people with eating disorders. Kate is an expert on the use of technology in therapy and a fellow of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy. She stresses that technology is there to be used alongside therapy, rather than instead of.

"We’re not at a stage yet where virtual reality is going to be able to replicate a human therapist.”

Kate told me that internationally, virtual reality has proven to be highly successful during studies looking into the ways VR can help people with anorexia and shaping the way they think about food, but in the UK we still have a long way to go before its researched here. "It's all to do with funding". Using Virtual reality alongside a therapist would be costly and another drawback is the confidentiality of the patient.

"It's so important that patients are treated with human interaction in a controlled environment, not just by the use of VR"

Ethically, we need to ensure that patients don't immerse themselves too much with VR which is where the help of therapists come in. Virtual reality is a great way to take you in a different world but it has to be measured.

#Eatingdisorder #virtualreality #Therapyonline #NHS