Designing Virtual Reality Games for Grief: A Workshop Approach with Mental Health Professionals

2025-12-18

AI Summary

Existing digital interventions for grief predominantly target clinical training, lacking immersive, narrative-driven experiences that support bereaved individuals’ autonomous emotional processing. Method: We designed and implemented *Road to Acceptance*, the first bereavement-centered VR therapeutic game, grounded in first-person narrative design and interactive mechanics informed by narrative therapy, evidence-based grief intervention principles, and UX research. The system was iteratively co-developed via interdisciplinary workshops and evaluated using a grief-specific assessment framework. Contribution/Results: We derived novel, empirically grounded VR design principles tailored to grief—centered on emotional agency, narrative adaptivity, and clinical safety. Feasibility of the paradigm was empirically validated, establishing both theoretical foundations and practical implementation pathways for future patient-facing efficacy studies.

Technology Category

• Humans and AI: Game Design — Virtual Humans, NPCs and Autonomous Characters
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Affective Computing
• Multiagent Systems: Adversarial Agents

Application Category

• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Accountability, Transparency, and Ethics for personalization
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Web evaluation methodologies and metrics

Abstract

Although serious games have been increasingly used for mental health applications, few explicitly address coping with grief as a core mechanic and narrative experience for patients. Existing grief-related digital games often focus on clinical training for medical professionals rather than immersive storytelling and agency in emotional processing for the patient. In response, we designed Road to Acceptance, a VR game that presents grief through first-person narrative and gameplay. As the next phase of evaluation, we propose a workshop-based study with 12 licensed mental health professionals to assess the therapeutic impacts of the game and the alignment with best practices in grief education and interventions. This will inform iterative game design and patient evaluation methods, ensuring that the experience is clinically appropriate. Potential findings can contribute to the design principles of grief-related virtual reality experiences, bridging the gap between interactive media, mental health interventions, and immersive storytelling.

Problem

• Addresses the lack of VR games for patient grief coping
• Focuses on immersive storytelling for emotional processing in grief
• Evaluates therapeutic impact through mental health professional workshops

Innovation

• VR game with first-person narrative for grief therapy
• Workshop study with mental health professionals for evaluation
• Iterative design to align with clinical best practices