Virtual Reality Therapy in the Metaverse

Virtual Reality Therapy in the Metaverse: A Clinician’s Guide to Getting Started with Virtual Reality-Based Psychotherapy by Bruce Bassi should be our next book out in the Metaverse Series.

Virtual Reality Therapy in the Metaverse provides mental health practitioners with a comprehensive, evidence-based guide to integrating virtual reality into psychotherapeutic practice. From preparing patients and obtaining informed consent to selecting hardware and designing virtual exposure environments, this book translates a growing body of research into practical clinical guidance.

The book equips clinicians with the knowledge needed to navigate every stage of VR integration. It begins with the preparatory steps — building the therapeutic alliance, obtaining informed consent and identifying appropriate patients — before examining the ethical, logistical and technological considerations involved in delivering VR-based interventions. Detailed chapters apply VR to the three pillars of cognitive behavioural therapy: exposure-based desensitization, cognitive restructuring and skills training. Case examples show how virtual environments can be individually tailored to treat conditions ranging from contamination OCD to treatment-resistant auditory hallucinations. The final section looks ahead, reviewing hardware and software advances and presenting a four-phase roadmap from augmented reality to psychotherapy in a fully realised metaverse.

Virtual Reality Therapy in the Metaverse is intended for practising psychotherapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors and trainees, as well as researchers and technology developers working at the intersection of mental health and immersive technology.

The book is due for publication on 22nd October with pre-orders opening 1st October. You can pre-order the book at Routledge.com.

OPENVERSE Summit “Open and Co-Created Virtual Worlds for Europe”

We heard about this initiative when David was presenting at the Digital Higher Education conference a few months ago, and good to see that the EU seems to be taking virtual worlds seriously again.

"The OPENVERSE Summit 2026 is the flagship European policy and ecosystem event dedicated to building open, interoperable, and human-centric Virtual Worlds.

Taking place in Brussels, at the heart of EU decision-making, the Summit positions Europe not only as a technological innovator, but as a global standard-setter shaping the rules and values of future immersive environments.

Organised by the OPENVERSE Coordination and Support Action (CSA), the Summit will serve as a high-level convening platform bringing together EU policymakers and institutional leaders; Horizon Europe projects and research initiatives; Industry pioneers and technology providers; Civil society representatives; Investors and ecosystem builders. Its strategic Brussels location underscores its role as a policy-driven milestone aligned with Europe’s digital priorities."

More information at: https://open-verse.eu/event/openverse-summit-open-and-co-created-virtual-worlds-for-europe

Just a pity they aren't also holding it in a virtual world!

Book Launch: Realistic and Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence - 18th June 2026

 

Maggi and her son Zak are launching their new book on the Realistic and Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence at Blackfriars Hall in Oxford on 18th June 2026. As well as David and Maggi speakers will also include Kester Brewin is Associate Director at the Institute for the Future of Work, Professor Sarah Hayes from the University of Bath Spa and Dr Elaine Kasket, an expert on technology’s role within our work, individual psychology, and relationships.

If you're in, or can get to, Oxford, we'd love to see you there. 

IK2026: Bridging Realities - Brains, Language and Technology

 

Maggi and David are both at the IK2026 Interdisciplinary College by the Mohnesee in Germany this week. IK2026 explores the dynamic intersection of brains, language, and technology, where reality and fiction increasingly overlap and inform one another. This is being approached through three interconnected focus areas:

• Immersive Interfaces
• Language and Intelligent Agents
• Societies and Blurred Realities

Maggi is part of the 3-person leadership team for the event and David is delivering a 4 lecture course on virtual humans, the metaverse and the accidental digital immortal.

ITEC 2026 - From simulation to 'true' digital twins and virtual worlds: The next leap in the future operating environment

 

Andy is chairing and David is speaking on a panel at the ITEC 2026 military training conference and exhibition on digital twins and virtual worlds, talking about some of their thoughts on the military metaverse and digital human twins.  

GoogleAI Lab's Project Genie - Explorable 3D Virtual Worlds

 

On the face of it Google Deep Mind's new Project Genie looks quite awesome - you describe a world and a character to explore it (or upload images), it builds it and you explore it! Whilst the video looks great access is currently limited to Ultra subscribers in the USA, so we'll have to wait a while until we can try it.

More information on the Google Blog.

RP1 - Open Metaverse Platform

 

In The Metaverse: A Critical Introduction we talk a lot about the need for an open metaverse, and so its good to see that new company RP1 now has their synonymous open metaverse platform out into public beta. It has some really interesting ideas (like a galaxy scale co-ordinate system), and is able to support 100s, even 100s of avatars in the same space (and has bots doing that 24/7 to demo it). David has written a piece for Medium on it if you want to know more.