Center Partners Spotlight: Bjorling and Sonney’s Virtual Reality Research Attracts Media Attention
Teens today are dealing with unprecedented stressors, and over the past decade their mental health has been in sustained decline. Levels of anxiety and depression rose after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Compounding the problem is a shortage of mental health providers — for every 100,000 children in the U.S., there are only 14 child and adolescent psychiatrists.
In response to this crisis, University of Washington researchers studied whether virtual reality might help reduce stress for teens and boost mental health. Working with adolescents, the team designed a snowy virtual world with six activities — such as stacking rocks and painting — based on practices shown to improve mental health.
Read the full story here: UW News – Virtual reality environment for teens may offer an accessible, affordable way to reduce stress
R03 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
The UW ALACRITY Center is an incubator for new research and bold thinking in mental health. If you’re an academic who has a big idea, and you’d like to be considered for funding and support from our team, please fill out and submit a Request for Proposal (RFP).
IMPORTANT DATES
Indication of Interest Deadline: May 14, 2024
Application Deadline: June 20, 2024
Funding Announcements: September 16, 2024
Project Start Date: October 1, 2024
WHY WORK WITH THE UW ALACRITY CENTER?
Our diverse team and unique methodology can provide you and your team with a wealth of resources, support, experience, and expertise. From data collection tools to grant writing support, design consultation, project management, and more. The UW ALACRITY Center can support you in bringing your ideas to life.
RFP AND APPENDICES
Appendix A: UWAC R03 RFA_Appendix A.pdf
Appendix B: UWAC R03 RFA_Appendix B.pdf
Appendix C: UWAC R03 RFA_Appendix C.pdf
Appendix D: UWAC R03 RFA_Appendix D.pdf
References: UWAC R03 RFA_References.pdf
DESIGNING AN INTELLIGENT TUTORING SYSTEM (ITS): A tool to support the training of mental health providers in core psychotherapy competencies
Each year, millions of Americans with mental illness struggle to find care. Nearly half of the 60 million adults and children living with mental health conditions in the United States go without any treatment. This short presentation, initially given at the 2021 International Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care by Emily Friedman, outlines our design process for creating an intelligent tutoring system (ITS) that would supplement in-person learning of mental health professionals and improve competency in essential skills while being cost-effective and scalable. The pilot is also discussed as well, which was very promising.