ASafePlace: User-Led Personalization of VR Relaxation via an Art Therapy Activity

2026-02-02

AI Summary

This study addresses the limited personalization in existing biofeedback approaches, which often fail to effectively link users’ emotional states with relaxation experiences. The authors propose a novel paradigm integrating art therapy and virtual reality, wherein participants draw their remembered “safe space,” and an AI system generates a personalized 360-degree VR environment accompanied by tailored audio guidance. Real-time biofeedback is provided using physiological indicators such as heart rate variability and respiration rate. This work represents the first integration of autobiographical memory–driven art therapy with an immersive VR biofeedback system. In a study with 52 participants, the approach significantly reduced anxiety, enhanced presence, and promoted physiological relaxation. Participants further reported that symbolic visual elements strengthened emotional connection and familiarity, underscoring the therapeutic potential of deeply personalized immersive interventions.

Technology Category

• Humans and AI: Game Design — Virtual Humans, NPCs and Autonomous Characters
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Affective Computing
• Machine Learning: Bio-inspired Learning

Application Category

• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Studies of user behavior, including longitudinal effects of personalized systems
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Personalized, context-aware and across-device search
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy

Abstract

To overcome the lack of deep personalization in standard biofeedback methods, we introduce ASafePlace, a system utilizing an AI-powered, art-therapy-inspired exercise called The Safe Place, to create a personalized VR biofeedback experience. In our system, users sketch a personal sanctuary from memory, which is then transformed into a customized 360 virtual environment with personalized audio guidance for relaxation training. A study with 52 participants showed this approach effectively reduced anxiety and increased user presence, while the integration of art-therapy-inspired activity and biofeedback produced strong improvements in physiological relaxation, measured by heart rate variability and respiration rate. Qualitative results showed how participants'sense of familiarity and presence was enhanced by the symbolic elements and natural sanctuaries created from their autobiographical memories. Our findings demonstrate that art-therapy-inspired activity is a powerful tool for creating highly effective and individualized relaxation experiences, naturally connecting the virtual environment to a user's core memories and emotions.

Problem

• personalization
• biofeedback
• virtual reality
• art therapy
• relaxation

Innovation

• personalized VR
• art therapy
• biofeedback
• AI-driven environment generation
• autobiographical memory