[Symposium 105] Progress in biological signature and care for youth mental health crisis

[SY-105-04] Implementation and Evaluation of Metaverse-Based Mental Health Services for Youth

*Junichi Fujita^1,2, Mio Ishii^1,2, Tomoyuki MIyazaki³ (1.Department of Child Psychiatry, Yokohama City University Hospital(Japan), 2.Department of Psychiatry, Yokohama City University School of Medicine(Japan), 3.Center for Promotion of Research and Industry-Academic Collaboration, Yokohama City University(Japan))

Keywords:

Youth mental health,Virtual reality,Digital music therapy,Telemental health innovation

Clinical testing of metaverse-based mental health services examined psychiatric consultation and music therapy modalities. Psychiatric consultations (n=26, ages 16-25) through VRChat® and WorkRooms® demonstrated 76% satisfaction among participants, effectively serving individuals with social anxiety, sensory sensitivities, and mobility challenges. Technical limitations manifested in VR goggle discomfort (44.4%) and audio latency (37.0%). Music therapy assessment, conducted across two virtual environments under professional supervision, revealed significant constraints in delivering traditional therapeutic interventions due to audio synchronization issues, limiting effectiveness to non-rhythmic musical experiences. The platform shows promise for psychiatric consultations while highlighting current technological barriers to comprehensive music therapy implementation. These findings inform future development of virtual mental health services, particularly regarding audio-dependent therapeutic modalities.