Description

Virtual Reality has been called an “Empathy Machine” by Chris Milk.

From working with Palliative patients, we have observed that it is so much more – it is a device for delivering Awe. When one is facing a terminal illness, VR can be an intervention, breaking the cycle of depression, fear, hopelessness, and even a crisis of faith.

“Awe is a category of emotion within the spectrum of self-transcendent experiences” **
Whether a patient is immersed underwater within a pod of dolphins or transported within a shower of light, it can cause patients to focus on something entirely different than their diagnosis. And by experiencing Awe, profound transformation can occur.

Awe is defined by Dacher Keitner, psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley as “the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your understanding of the world”. For someone confined to their bed, VR therapy can deliver an experience that reduces anxiety, relieves pain, and enhances quality of life by evoking awe and wonder. VR can even transform a patient’s relationship to their mortality.

This talk will focus on the power of VR to create transformative experiences for cancer patients in the Steward Center for Palliative Care, Joseph Candler Hospital of Savannah Georgia through case studies, observations, our current I.R.B. research, success stories, and the opportunities of content creation and implementation for this population.