Ethical Challenges of Using Virtual Environments in the Assessment and Treatment of Psychopathological Disorders

Clinicians are increasingly interested in the potential of virtual environments for research and praxes. Virtual environments include both immersive and non-immersive simulations of everyday activities. Moreover, algorithmic devices and adaptive virtual environments allow clinicians a medium for personalizing technologies to their patients. There is also increasing recognition of social virtual environments that connect virtual environments to social networks. Although there has been a great deal of deliberation on these novel technologies for assessment and treatment, less discourse has occurred around the ethical challenges that may ensue when these technologies are applied clinically. In this paper, some of the ethical issues involved in the clinical use of novel technologies are discussed.

Automated summary

Clinicians are increasingly interested in the potential of virtual environments for personalizing technologies to their patients, including immersive and non-immersive simulations. There is also recognition of the connection of virtual environments to social networks. However, the ethical challenges that may arise in clinical application of these technologies have not been widely discussed.