Game changing: virtual reality training for authorised leave of forensic patients

Authorised leave is a crucial step within the treatment of forensic mental health patients, and successful authorised leave is a strong determinant of treatment duration. Staff indicates that patients are more stressed, show more problematic behaviour, and possibly use more ‘if needed’ medication in the period working up towards authorised leave due to anticipatory stress. 

There are currently no studies which assess the usability of VR in the preparation and practice for authorised leave, even though VR is deemed specifically suitable to train, expose and assess high-risk situations without endangering others. In this proposal a VR training protocol for authorised leave of forensic patients is developed and tested. VR training is hypothesised to have a positive influence on inpatient problematic behaviour, staff reported stress levels, inpatient medication use, and incidents during authorised leave. Thereby increasing quality, efficiency and efficacy of forensic mental healthcare.