Psious: virtual reality to tackle anxiety disorders

We talked to Xavier Palomer, CEO of Psious, a company that is revolutionizing psychotherapy.

The human brain is one of the most complex systems in existence, but as time goes by new technologies are emerging that make it possible to study its functioning and intervene in it effectively. Among these novel proposals are those that have to do with the use of virtual reality, i.e., the design and modeling of fictitious environments that we can explore through electronic devices placed in our eyes, ears, etc.

Interview with Xavier Palomer, CEO of Psious

Today we interview Xavier PalomerCEO and co-founder of Psious, an ambitious project born in Barcelona that aims to bring virtual reality sessions closer to clinical intervention.

What is Psious and how was the initial idea of undertaking this project born?

Psious Toolsuite is the first online platform specifically created for mental health. It is an app designed by psychologists for psychologists that uses virtual reality and 3D technology for the treatment of anxiety disorders.

The project was started by Dani Roig, the other founder, and me. We met in physics school. Dani was afraid of flying and looking for a therapy to cure him, we came up with the idea. We wanted to improve cognitive behavioral therapies with something more effective than imagination or in vivo. Today we can say that we are succeeding.

The project was born in Barcelona, where the effects of the economic crisis are still being felt. To what extent is it difficult for you to move the project forward from here? How have you experienced the process of seeking funding?

The process of seeking funding, not only in Spain, in Europe it was very difficult or almost impossible to get funding. We achieved little at a huge cost. We had to go to the US to look for investors and, fortunately, we succeeded. A fund from Silicon Valley (San Francisco), Rothenburg Ventures, saw potential in our application and invested. Other funds invested in the financing round, including CaixaHolding, which is part of La Caixa. The process of seeking funding was very hard and we had to fight against many adversities, but the result has been worth every effort and minute invested.

It has cost us a lot to start in Spain, to introduce technology in a market like psychology. We are creating a network of experts in virtual reality to learn and improve on this technology applied to the treatment of anxiety disorders, with which we have treated more than 1000 patients.

We have been doing research on phobias and anxiety disorders using resources such as virtual reality for a long time. Why has it been so little used in clinical intervention?

He thinks that Virtual Reality is a technology that until today was only used by a few due to its high cost. Twenty years of studies show that VR works in the field of mental health, but it has not been until now that we have been able to bring it to clinics at an affordable cost. One of Psious' goals is to democratize VR for treatment and, frankly, we are slowly getting there. As of today, we can say that more than 500 mental health professionals are already using this technology in their practice and that more than 1000 patients have already been successfully treated, even though we have only been in the market for a few months.

Psious has received several national and international awards, how is it doing in the market?

The awards are just the cherry on top of good results and hard work by our team. The truth is that we are doing well. We are growing very fast. In Spain we can say that we have practically no competition where we have about 350 mental health professionals. In the USA it is a little more difficult to enter because people there prefer to be treated with medication to save money and time, it is a different culture and it is always a little more complicated. We have more than 100 in America, and in the rest of the world more than 50. Every day we have a new client, in a very short time we have grown very quickly.

It is possible that some patients are wary of such novel treatments based on the use of a technology they are unfamiliar with. How would you convince them? What advantages do virtual reality-based treatments offer over other forms of psychotherapy?

Surprisingly, the opposite is true. The first thing they see when they see the Virtual Reality glasses is motivation, curiosity, laughter, excitement? There is data confirming that using this tool makes it easier for the patient to start therapy than with imagination or in vivo. The fact of counting on the therapist makes patients feel safe. Although their brain makes them believe at times that they are somewhere else, they know that in reality they are safe and protected. They are only exposed to a certain amount of anxiety, always modulated and controlled by the psychologist. Patients are motivated to be treated because most of them want to solve possible problems that do not allow them to live a full life.

Virtual Reality cognitive behavioral therapy is more realistic and, therefore, more effective than therapy through imagination (many people do not have enough imaginative capacity to be treated). On the other hand, VR is safer than in vivo exposure (real exposure) which is impractical for recurrent use. With Psious Toolsuite the therapist can control the patient's vital signs through biofeedback and control their anxiety levels at every moment in order to have more precision in the treatment and ensure their well-being.

What kind of training do the people directly involved in the design and modeling of the virtual environments used in Psious have?

The design of the environments is carried out by psychologists, Virtual Reality designers create them and computer engineers upload them to the platform.

At the moment, how many "environments" or "scenarios" does the Psious catalog have? At what rate do you plan to create new options?

Taking into account that for each specific phobia or exercise there is more than one environment, right now we have more than 30 in our catalog.

We are going at a very good pace. Our production department is growing. Right now we have just launched the first social phobia environment.

What are the next objectives to be achieved in the short and medium term?

In the short term, we want to continue growing in Spain, increasing the number of expert psychologists who treat using virtual reality and the number of patients treated with this technology. We want to position virtual reality as one of the most used tools in psychology and for this we need the collaboration of psychologists and professionals in the sector. In the medium to short term we want to extend the product to the entire American continent, from north to south, where we already have several professionals using it and we generate a lot of interest.

In terms of product, we are continuously developing new virtual reality environments. A few days ago we launched environments to treat social phobia or to train and practice social skills.