Mental Health Implications for Presence

"Presence," as discussed in the virtual reality (VR) literature, is the sense of truly being in a virtual place. This literature explores many aspects of presence including interactive and environmental factors. This exploration has generally ignored the impact of the individual's mental status on the experience of presence. Mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, and psychosis may each define a population with specific tendencies to respond to VR in particular ways. To fully understand the experience of presence in virtual environments, we must understand more about the impact of different mental states on presence. Such an understanding will improve our insight into the construct of presence, assist in improved design of virtual environments, and better inform us about how virtual environments can be applied in the treatment of emotional disorders.