Virtual reality in teaching of psychiatry and psychotherapy at medical school

Background Since the COVID-19 pandemic medical training and teaching have to adapt to the new circumstances, especially as new digital technologies become available. Physician's interaction and exploration techniques are among the most important tools that medical students have to acquire in psychiatry and psychotherapy. Objective Virtual reality (VR) avatars can basically represent all syndromes in varying degrees of severity at any time. Material and methods In Bochum's avatar exploration project (AVEX), students enter into dialogues with "mentally ill" avatars and, under guidance and supervision, try to work out the diagnosis, differential diagnoses and treatment recommendations. Results and discussion This allows students to learn about rare or severe psychiatric conditions presented in VR. This review article presents first experiences especially in setting up and development as well as regarding the technological challenges.