Negative attitudes towards conditions such as psychosis and schizophrenia are common among healthcare students and professionals, potentially affecting the care provided. Virtual reality, with its ability to induce a sense of “being there” and to allow users to feel as if they are inside a virtual body, may help healthcare students better understand what it is like to live with mental illness.

This thesis employs a multi-study approach to investigate whether and how this media innovation can reduce mental health stigma, proposing and testing a new model for virtual reality-mediated attitudinal change. Study 1 systematically reviewed immersive and non-immersive interventions, showing that virtual reality generally reduced aspects of stigma among healthcare students. Person-centred approaches and inclusion of educational content were more beneficial than symptom-focused simulation. Study 2 explored perspectives of students, educators, and lived experience experts, highlighting virtual reality as an engaging and immersive tool but noting barriers including oversimplification, emotional distress, and limited transfer to practice. Study 3 piloted an immersive virtual reality game about psychosis and schizophrenia, revealing mixed user experiences but recognising its practical value. Study 4 tested the new virtual reality-mediated attitude change model by manipulating interactivity in the same game, finding significant stigma reductions across both interactive and non-interactive versions but through different mechanisms. Study 5 compared player reviews of two different virtual reality games with mental illness as a theme, suggesting that the style of portrayal shaped public perceptions.

These findings have implications for the design and delivery of virtual reality experiences in mental health education to reduce stigma, though the role of embodiment, individual differences, and long-term impact remain to be clarified.