Virtual reality for psycho-neurological assessment and rehabilitation

Previous work has shown that even relatively unsophisticated virtual reality tools can prove a valuable tool in psycho-neurological assessment and rehabilitation. The aim of the “Telemedicine and Portable Virtual Environment in Clinical Psychology” - VEPSY UPDATED – a European Community funded research project (IST-2000-25323, http://www.cybertherapy.info) is to comprehend the potential of virtual reality applications in this area and utilize virtual reality in treatment protocols. We are particularly interested in developing various virtual reality applications to be used in clinical assessment and treatment of both neurological and psychological disorders. In this work we describe both the clinical and technical rationale behind the various clinical applications that have been developed by members of VEPSY UPDATED. This work also serves as an analysis of the possible roles of virtual reality in the fields of clinical psychology and neurological rehabilitation.