Extended Abstract for #CHI2026 Posters: https://doi.org/10.1145/3772363.3798365
Poster PDF: https://estellesmithphd.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/zenvr-chi-2026-poster.pdf
Adolescents face a unique mental health burden, shaped by both the intensity of this developmental stage and persistent gaps in access to care. As clinicians and researchers look for supportive tools that can complement traditional treatment, meditation has emerged as a promising therapeutic adjunct.
Virtual Reality (VR) may make that support even more engaging: prior work has shown that VR-based meditation training can help adults. Our poster at #CHI2026 explores whether VR could be adapted for clinical mental health care for adolescents as well. To better understand that potential, we conducted a mixed-methods study with clinicians at Colorado Children’s Hospital and ZenVR–a VR startup focusing on teaching meditation in a VR Zen dojo setting. Through surveys and interviews, using the current ZenVR experience as a design probe, we gathered feedback on its acceptability and practical use in clinical treatment settings.
The results suggest strong clinical interest in VR as a mental health support tool for teens, while also highlighting the importance of thoughtful implementation. Clinicians were broadly enthusiastic about the technology and saw clear potential in its use, while also pointing to the need for developmentally appropriate design and careful clinical integration. Their feedback identified several priorities for making VR more clinic-ready, including how to screen patients for VR interventions, where VR fits within existing care pathways, and how providers might prescribe its use and dosage. Together, these insights offer an early framework for designing and deploying VR meditation interventions that are not only innovative, but also realistic, safe, and responsive to the needs of adolescent mental health care.
Interested to know more? Please check out the full CHI poster paper.
Reference:
Clinical Recommendations for Integrating Virtual Reality Meditation Training in Adolescent Mental Health Treatment. Alemitu Bezabih, Matthew J. Golino, Jami Moe Hartman, Joel Stoddard, and C. Estelle Smith. Poster Paper at CHI 2026. Barcelona, Spain. April 2026.
C. Estelle Smith, Ph.D. 