Postgraduate Certificate in Virtual Reality Tools for Therapeutic Play
Published on June 28, 2025
About this Podcast
HOST: Welcome to our podcast, today I'm thrilled to be joined by Dr. Sarah Peterson, an expert in Virtual Reality Tools for Therapeutic Play and the lead instructor of a new Postgraduate Certificate course on this topic. Dr. Peterson, welcome! GUEST: Thank you for having me, I'm excited to be here! HOST: Let's dive right in. Can you share with us what initially drew you to this field and how your personal experiences have shaped your approach to teaching this course? GUEST: Absolutely! I've always been fascinated by the potential of technology to enhance mental health treatment, and VR offers so many unique opportunities for therapeutic play. My own experiences working with children and adults in clinical settings have shown me how powerful VR can be in helping people overcome challenges and build coping skills. HOST: That's fascinating. Now, as a leader in this field, could you tell us about any current industry trends that are particularly relevant to this course? GUEST: Absolutely. One trend we're seeing is the growing accessibility of VR technology, which is making it easier than ever for therapists to incorporate VR into their practice. We're also seeing more research on the effectiveness of VR interventions for a wide range of mental health concerns. HOST: Those are exciting developments. Now, as with any new technology, there must be challenges in implementing VR tools in therapeutic play. Could you speak to some of those challenges and how your course addresses them? GUEST: Certainly. One challenge is ensuring that therapists have the necessary skills to design and implement effective VR interventions. Our course addresses this by providing hands-on training with the latest VR software and hardware, as well as teaching evidence-based therapeutic play techniques. HOST: That sounds very comprehensive. Finally, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the future of this area. Where do you see VR tools for therapeutic play heading in the next 5-10 years? GUEST: I believe we'll see even more widespread adoption of VR in mental health treatment, as well as new developments in VR technology that will open up even more possibilities for therapeutic play. I'm excited to see how this field continues to evolve and how our course can help prepare therapists for the future. HOST: Dr. Peterson, thank you so much for sharing your insights with us today. It's been a pleasure learning more about this exciting new course. GUEST: Thank you for having me! It's been a pleasure sharing my experiences and knowledge with your audience.
