ReviewBehavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland)2025
What Are the Ethical Issues Surrounding Extended Reality in Mental Health? A Scoping Review of the Different Perspectives.
Review in Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
As extended reality (XR) technologies such as virtual and augmented reality rapidly enter mental health care, ethical considerations lag behind and require urgent attention to safeguard patient safety, uphold research integrity, and guide clinical practice. This scoping review aims to map the current understanding regarding the main ethical issues arising on the use of XR in clinical psychiatry.
methodsSearches were conducted in 5 databases and included 29 studies. Relevant excerpts discussing ethical issues were documented and then categorized.
resultsThe analysis led to the identification of 5 core ethical challenges: (i) Balancing beneficence and non-maleficence as a question of patient safety, (ii) Altering autonomy by altering reality and information, (iii) data privacy risks and confidentiality concerns, (iv) clinical liability and regulation, and v) fostering inclusiveness and equity in XR development. Most authors have stated ethical concerns primarily for the first two topics, whereas the remaining four themes were not consistently addressed across all papers.
conclusionsThere remains a great research void regarding such an important topic due the limited number of empirical studies, the lack of involvement of those living with a mental health issue in the development of these XR-based technologies, and the lack of clear clinical and ethical guidelines regarding their use. Identifying broader ethical implications of such novel technology is crucial for best mental healthcare practices.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.