A bright living room with large windows showing a scenic view of mountains, trees, and a river. The room has potted plants, a small table with a decorative plant, and a person smiling on the right side.
A logo for Phoenix MS Self Confidence Therapy with an orange phoenix bird above the text.

A Virtual Reality application was created to help provide young people with small activities, followed by immediate, positive feedback, to help build some of that self-confidence back.

The treatment is based on established cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and positive psychology techniques. A case series indicates that this approach may lead to large improvements in positive self-beliefs and psychological wellbeing. We now conducting the first randomised controlled evaluation of Phoenix VR. 

Results from the case series, and ongoing evaluation trial of Phoenix is extremely positive, with some users reporting that they now have to confidence to return to their normal life and overcome feelings of paranoia.

Phoenix: Self Confidence

“The confidence of young people diagnosed with psychosis is often low. Positive self-beliefs may be few and negative self-beliefs many. A sense of defeat and failure is common.”
— Prof Daniel Freeman

What I did:

  • Wrote C# code in Unity for all activities

  • Optimised Application for Quest 2 deployment

  • Conducted User Research at several points in development

  • Designed activities in application

  • Managed deployment for different testing rounds

  • Responded to feedback from users and SMEs and developed improvements

  • Created novel interactions for a fun experience

Virtual scene with digital rabbits and feeding stations labeled with food items such as carrots, hay, apples, and cabbage.
Virtual reality hands holding a hammer near a wall with wallpaper and a painting.
3D animation of a person in red shirt and blue pants near a wooden structure with mesh wire, outdoors with trees and blue sky.
Virtual reality puzzle game with hand interacting with levers and toys

Made with

University of Oxford logo with blue background and white text.

Projects

  • Life of King 2 App Logo

    Life of King 2

    Casual idle simulation game where players rebuild and expand a whimsical Stone Age kingdom. Rescue workers, gather resources, make strategic choices, and guide your tribe from humble hunting and gathering to conquering dungeons and dinosaurs.

    Take a Look
  • Animal Express App Logo

    Animal Express

    Casual mobile simulation game where players manage a stylised train network for animal passengers. Upgrade train cars, meet passenger needs, and unlock new regions through light, idle-style progression.

    Take a Look
  • Virtual scene with a table, ashtray, cigarettes, lighters, and human figures on a dark background.

    Smoking Cessation

    Study relating to inducing smoking cravings in VR, using singular and multiple cues, to help chronic smokers who repetedly fail to quit smoking.

    Developed with Oxford University.

    Take a Look
  • Virtual reality simulation of medical procedure in clinic setting, arm with needle, healthcare training

    Needle Fears

    Theraputic VR program trialed in Adolescents with severe phobia of needles, aiming to reduce fear and adverse reactions to needles.

    Developed with Oxford University

    Take a Look
  • Virtual scene featuring rabbits on grass, signs for feeding with carrots, cabbage, hay, apple. Hands holding a carrot near feeding bowls.

    Phoenix Self Confidence

    VR Application that provides Mental Health and Self-Confidence support for Adolescents with a history of Psychosis.

    Developed with Oxford University

    Take a Look
  • Video game rendering of five people standing inside an elevator

    Facing the Lift

    Addressing and identifying triggers of incorrect behaviour in people with anger issues and paranoia.

    Developed with Oxford University

  • Virtual meeting space with digital avatars seated in a semicircle, Gemba on screen

    Gemba

    Live service, multi-user platform for delivering masterclasses and collaborative workshops in Virtual Reality

    Used by Large-Scale manufacturing companies such as Coca-Cola, Toyota and Phillips

    Take a Look
  • Animated scene of a man sitting at a bus stop wearing a face mask, with a digital sign displaying delayed bus routes. A red car is parked on the street and a building is in the background.

    Avoidance and Safety Behaviours

    Rehearsal Application for people overcoming their own avoidance behaviours and fear or being in situations they see as stressful

    Take a Look
  • Roblox game scene at a pool with pool floats and tiles

    Worry and Rumination

    App to educate users about worry and ruminating thoughts with rehearsal to practice breaking the cycle

    Take a Look
  • Virtual reality hand reaching for apples on tree branch in indoor environment with columns and modern building background.

    Fear of Heights

    Extreme fear of heights can prevent people from going outside and living a normal life out of fear from finding themselves near even a meter drop.

    This VR application was designed to help those people

    Take a Look
  • Person in high-visibility gear near open manhole and barricade, "Thames Water" logo visible, residential area background, text "Open Manhole" displayed.

    Thames Water Igloo

    Interactive 360 projection inside an Igloo cylinder built for training staff at the Lanes Group site in Slough for Thames Water

    This type of interactive material had never been done before.

    Take a Look
  • US military personnel operating portable weather station with solar panel

    US Air Force

    Digital twin, 1:1 Virtual reality training for assembling equipment used by the Weather Wing of the US Air Force.

    Take a Look
  • Silhouette of deer near tree with 'wee door' logo

    Elk

    Made for DARE to be digital.

    Help a lost elk return to its family.

    All Characters made in Stop Motion

    Take a Look