Design Characteristics and Proposals for VR Meditation in Depression Supportive Therapy

Abstract

As application of VR technology is increasing in mental health care, its potential for the supportive treatment of depression has attracted growing attention. Meditation plays an important role in traditional non-pharmacological interventions for depression. The development of VR offers new possibilities for delivering meditative experiences. This study reviews the design features of existing VR meditation applications, and based on a synthesis of relevant literature, summarizes content design directions suitable for supportive treatment of depression across multiple dimensions. It has been found that the special needs of the patients are not fully reflected. Effective VR meditation for this population should be tailored to depressive characteristics by maintaining stable natural environments, carefully controlling sensory stimulation intensity, adopting gentle guidance rhythms, and reducing the operational burden of user interaction. Finally, this paper discusses future directions for integrating AI with VR meditation, providing new perspectives for digital mental health interventions.