Virtual reality, real change

VR therapy tackles youth anxiety in Aotearoa

After a successful VR pilot for vaping cessation, digital health innovators Ignite expand their programme to tackle social anxiety - with life-changing results for young people.

Driven by anxiety

At just 18 years old, Nat experienced anxiety attacks almost every time she left the house. She avoided public spaces, rarely saw friends and struggled to reach out for help – or sticking with help when mental health support was offered.

With anxiety firmly in the driver’s seat, Nat was like so many of New Zealand’s rangatahi: scared, isolated and stuck. But things were about to change.

Innovation from digital health provider Ignite

After two months at Tiakina, a Ka Puta Ka Ora Emerge Aotearoa youth mental health service in Christchurch, Nat was offered the chance to try something new: a Virtual Reality (VR) exposure therapy pilot developed by digital health provider Ignite, in partnership with oVRcome.

Participants of the VR pilot are carefully exposed to simulations of real-world, anxiety-inducing environments, such as busy malls or crowded elevators. With guidance from trained mental health professionals, young people can use the VR headsets to safely explore their triggers and learn how to manage their responses.

The initiative builds on the success of Ignite and oVRcome’s earlier VR pilot, which helped young people quit vaping by placing them in simulated peer-pressure and craving scenarios. The success of that programmesparked the idea to apply the same immersive tools to social anxiety – one of the most common but debilitating mental health issues among young people in Aotearoa.

Before the VR pilot, Nat was attending only 30 percent of her Tiakina sessions. She often couldn't stay in the room, let alone take part in group therapy. Thoughts of illness were a major trigger – the sound of someone coughing or even mentioning sickness was enough to send her running for the exit. But after just a few VR sessions, Nat’s attendance jumped to 70 percent. She began speaking up in group settings, made new friends and even visited a shopping mall with a peer – something she had once thought impossible.

“So much progress wouldn’t have been made unless it was for the VR,” Nat says. “I’d recommend it a hundred million percent.”

Now, just months later, Nat is studying for a Health and Wellbeing Certificate, with plans to become a Support Worker. She’s even doing a placement at Tiakina, the very place where her journey began.

Through VR, she learned how to sit with discomfort, calm her thoughts using affirmations like “I’m okay” and “I’m safe,” and most importantly, regain a sense of control over her life. She credits much of her progress to the kindness and patience of the Tiakina team, who supported her at her own pace with regular check-ins after each session.

I love hearing stories like Nat’s re the impact of this pilot – it’s evidence that immersive, digital tools can make a meaningful difference when blended into traditional service models. We’re not replacing human support; we’re enhancing it with technology in ways that are more accessible, flexible and can have real impact on rangatahi outcomes.

Following the success of the pilot, Ignite has now incorporated VR therapy for social anxiety into its ongoing service offerings. The goal is to make this innovative therapy available to more rangatahi across Aotearoa.

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