Center for BrainHealth helps mental health patients develop social skills using virtual coaching

Cognitive neuroscience researchers and clinicians had been encountering significant challenges in effectively addressing social skills development among individuals dealing with mental health conditions or neurodevelopmental disorders.

THE PROBLEM

Traditional approaches often lacked engagement and real-world applicability, making it difficult for individuals to generalize skills learned in therapy sessions to everyday social interactions. As a result, many patients struggled with feelings of isolation, anxiety and difficulty navigating social situations, hindering their overall wellbeing and quality of life.

“In educational settings, educators also faced hurdles in providing comprehensive support for students experiencing social difficulties,” said Maria Johnson, director of youth and family innovations and Charisma virtual social coaching lead at the Center for BrainHealth, a cognitive research center at The University of Texas at Dallas. “These challenges often translated into academic and social barriers to success, impacting students’ learning experiences and outcomes.

“Similarly, in clinical care settings, clinicians encountered limitations to traditional therapy approaches, particularly in creating realistic social scenarios for clients to practice and generalize their skills,” she continued. “This lack of engagement and personalized learning experiences hindered the overall progress and well-being of individuals seeking support for social skills development.”

Overall, the prevailing problem was the inadequacy of existing methods to effectively address the diverse social skill needs of individuals across different settings, leading to persistent challenges in social interaction and emotional wellbeing.

PROPOSAL

So the Center for BrainHealth proposed developing Charisma Virtual Social Coaching, a system rooted in research and evidence-based protocols to address the challenges of social skills development. The platform aimed to leverage immersive virtual environments and live coaching sessions to provide individuals with a highly engaging and effective method for practicing and refining their social skills.

“Drawing from principles of cognitive neuroscience and social information processing models, Charisma offers a comprehensive curriculum designed to target specific social skill deficits while fostering generalization and real-world application,” Johnson explained. “Through a combination of role-playing scenarios, interactive exercises, and immediate feedback from both clinicians and their virtual counterparts, Charisma creates a supportive and realistic environment for skill acquisition and mastery.

“The platform proposal outlined a multifaceted approach that integrated elements of telehealth and gaming technology to deliver personalized and evidence-based social coaching,” she continued. “Charisma’s customizable avatars and diverse range of social settings are designed to cater to the unique needs and preferences of each individual, ensuring a tailored and effective learning experience.”

Moreover, the platform emphasizes the importance of continuous assessment and progress tracking to monitor skill development and adjust interventions accordingly.

“By harnessing the power of immersive virtual environments and live coaching sessions, Charisma is revolutionizing social skills training, providing individuals with the tools and support needed to navigate social interactions confidently and successfully,” Johnson stated.

MEETING THE CHALLENGE

Charisma has tapped into the inherent appeal of game-based technologies to meet the challenges of social skills development.

“Designed and developed at the Center for BrainHealth, Charisma embodies a synergy between developers, artists, researchers, clinicians and coaches,” said Aaron Tate, director of emerging technology at the Center for BrainHealth. “This collaboration has resulted in a platform that is not only technologically advanced but also deeply rooted in scientific research and practical application.

“At its core, Charisma uses the Unreal Engine for its virtual environment creation, ensuring a rich, immersive experience that mirrors the complexity and nuance of real-world social interactions,” he continued. “Hosted on Amazon Web Services, Charisma benefits from robust cloud infrastructure, enabling seamless, high-quality game interface streaming directly through web browsers.”

This cloud-based approach allows Charisma coaches to connect with clients globally, eliminating geographical barriers and making the platform accessible to anyone with internet access and a device capable of streaming video content.

“The platform’s integration into popular video conferencing apps further simplifies access; users can launch Charisma’s extensive suite of role-playing scenarios and social strategy training modules with just a click,” Tate explained. “This integration signifies a leap in convenience and accessibility, making it possible for users to engage in personalized social skill development sessions from the comfort of their homes or any other preferred location.

“The platform architecture is designed to be both inclusive and expansive, accommodating a wide range of users,” he continued. “From individuals seeking to enhance their interpersonal skills to clinicians and educators looking for effective tools to support their clients and students, Charisma offers a versatile solution.”

The platform’s integration with other systems, particularly AWS’s cloud services, ensures a smooth, high-performance experience that can adapt to the evolving needs of its users, he added.

“Through this holistic approach, combining state-of-the-art technology with expert insights, Charisma effectively facilitates meaningful social skills improvement and fosters a greater sense of connection and understanding among its users,” he said.

“To enhance Charisma’s reach and efficacy, we’ve embarked on a strategic partnership with AWS, focusing on the integration of generative AI technologies alongside our established success with pixel streaming,” he continued. “This collaboration is poised to transform the user experience and expand the platform’s capabilities in unprecedented ways.”

Generative AI, a cornerstone of Charisma’s future development, is set to transform the way social scenarios and training modules are created and deployed within Charisma, he added. This technology will enable the automatic generation of social scenarios that are not only diverse and engaging but also meticulously aligned with the Charisma curriculum, he said.

“By leveraging AI to suggest scenarios and coaching considerations, we ensure that each session is backed by research and adheres to a high standard of consistency and educational value,” Tate explained. “This approach enhances the customization and flexibility of our offerings, enabling Charisma to adapt to the unique needs and learning goals of each user while maintaining the integrity of our core strategies.

“Looking ahead, we are excited about the potential for AI to enable autonomous social skills training scenarios,” he continued. “This ambitious vision will require substantial data to realize, as it involves crafting scenarios that can intelligently adjust to users’ responses and learning progress, mimicking the nuanced guidance traditionally provided by human coaches.”

The aim is to supplement live coaching sessions with AI-driven scenarios that can offer users additional practice and reinforcement in a variety of contexts, thereby accelerating skill acquisition and mastery.

“AWS’s robust cloud infrastructure and cutting-edge AI capabilities are pivotal in this journey, providing the technical foundation necessary for these advanced features,” he said. “The scalability and security offered by AWS ensure that Charisma can efficiently handle the increased data processing demands of AI integration and maintain user privacy and data integrity.

“This partnership not only facilitates the technological advancement of the Charisma platform but also exemplifies our commitment to leveraging the latest innovations in AI and cloud computing to redefine social skills training,” he added.

RESULTS

Charisma’s immersive virtual environments provide a safe and supportive space for individuals to practice identifying and regulating emotions in various social contexts, allowing for repeated exposure and skill reinforcement, Johnson said.

“Charisma Virtual Social Coaching has achieved significant success in enhancing social competencies, with measurable outcomes demonstrating its effectiveness,” she reported. “One key metric is the reported gains in recognizing and managing emotions, with 90% of participants noting improvement in this area.

“This metric is assessed through pre- and post-intervention evaluations, which include self-reported measures and clinician assessments of emotional intelligence and regulation,” she added.

Additionally, nearly 75% of participants have reported doubling their ability to understand the intentions of others, indicating substantial growth in perspective-taking and social cognition. This metric is measured through structured assessments within Charisma’s curriculum, which include tasks requiring participants to interpret social cues and infer the thoughts and feelings of others.

“By providing realistic social interactions and immediate feedback from both clinicians and virtual avatars, Charisma facilitates the development of advanced social competencies, leading to tangible improvements in participants social lives,” Johnson noted.

“The effectiveness of this unique social coaching program conducted in an engaging virtual environment has been validated in peer-reviewed research, published in Frontiers in Virtual Reality,” she concluded. “Additional research with a variety of populations is ongoing.”

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