Abstract
IN THIS FEATURE, we will try to describe the characteristics of current cyberpsychology research in Europe. In particular, CyberEurope aims to describe the leading research groups and projects running on the other side of the Ocean.
Introduction
The transition into adulthood, commonly referred to as emerging adulthood, 1 represents a distinct developmental period marked by identity exploration, evolving autonomy, and increased psychosocial complexity. During this phase, individuals are frequently confronted with uncertainty across relational, academic, and occupational domains, which can precipitate heightened vulnerability to emotional dysregulation and psychological distress. In light of these challenges, interventions that enhance adaptive psychological capacities are urgently needed to support healthy developmental trajectories. In response to the increasing psychological vulnerability observed in emerging adults, the “VR for Hope” project is developing and evaluating a novel virtual reality (VR) protocol designed to enhance personal insight, emotional regulation, and reflective functioning. The project will be conducted through a collaboration between the Department of Psychology and the Humane Technology Lab at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy.
Rooted in both cognitive-motivational theory and psychodynamic principles, the intervention utilizes the symbolic and experiential affordances of VR to evoke emotionally resonant narratives, support autobiographical reprocessing, and stimulate the activation of internal psychological resources. Building upon prior evidence-based frameworks—most notably the Covid Feel Good protocol 2 —VR for Hope combines guided VR experiences with structured self-help exercises to promote psychological development in a scalable and accessible format. Central to the design of the protocol is its targeted focus on three interrelated psychological constructs that are considered critical for adaptation and resilience in young adulthood: hope, mentalization, and well-being.
Hope
Hope is conceptualized not merely as a transient emotional state but as a dispositional cognitive-motivational system that plays a central role in psychological resilience and goal-directed behavior. According to Snyder’s Hope Theory, 3 hope consists of two key components: agency, defined as the capacity to initiate and sustain actions toward goals, and pathways, or the perceived ability to identify and pursue routes to those goals. A robust body of literature supports the association between high levels of hope and adaptive psychological outcomes, including enhanced coping efficacy, increased well-being, and reduced vulnerability to distress. In the context of emerging adulthood, hope enables individuals to maintain a future-oriented perspective despite uncertainty, thereby promoting persistence and psychological flexibility in the pursuit of meaningful aspirations.
Mentalization
Mentalization refers to the metacognitive capacity to attribute mental states—such as thoughts, feelings, and intentions—to oneself and to others, thereby making sense of behavior within a psychological framework. 4 This capacity is foundational for emotion regulation, self-understanding, and interpersonal functioning. Inadequate mentalizing skills have been associated with a range of psychopathological vulnerabilities, including identity diffusion, impulsivity, and difficulties in affective communication. From a therapeutic perspective, mentalization is a dynamic, relationally mediated process that can be strengthened through interventions that evoke curiosity, perspective-taking, and emotional resonance. Crucially, the restoration of reflective function is also implicated in the reactivation of realistic hope, particularly in the aftermath of psychological adversity.
Well-being
Psychological well-being is increasingly recognized as a multidimensional construct encompassing emotional, psychological, and social domains. It reflects not only the absence of distress but also the presence of positive functioning, including self-acceptance, a sense of purpose in life, autonomy, and environmental mastery. In young adults, well-being is closely tied to the ability to engage in meaningful action, regulate affect, and construct coherent life narratives. In this context, VR for Hope supports the development of well-being by offering an emotionally immersive space where participants can engage with symbolic representations of their inner experiences, reflect on personal strengths, and envision meaningful future goals.
By integrating the constructs of hope, mentalization, and well-being, the protocol fosters reflective awareness and future-oriented agency, contributing to the promotion of long-term psychological growth in emerging adulthood. 5
VR for Hope: The Project
The protocol consists of five structured sessions delivered over one week. The intervention begins with an in-person session featuring a 10-minute immersive VR experience titled The River and the Leaf. This foundational scenario presents a symbolic journey in which a leaf travels along a flowing river through natural landscapes, representing the movement of the self through time and experience. The immersive environment is designed to evoke reflection on personal growth, transformation, and continuity. This narrative becomes the experiential anchor for the entire intervention: each of the subsequent sessions, completed independently through guided audio-visual materials, is thematically and symbolically connected to the initial VR experience, allowing participants to re-engage with and expand upon the emotional and cognitive insights stimulated during the immersive session. The sessions are structured as follows:
The first session, The Beginning of the Journey, introduces participants to this symbolic landscape and guides them in recalling a significant personal achievement, with an emphasis on identifying the internal resources and strengths that enabled its realization. The second session, Dreams and Goals, invites participants to use the river as a metaphor for their future aspirations, encouraging reflection on personally meaningful goals and underlying values. The third session, Overcoming Difficulties, uses the image of a submerging and resurfacing leaf to symbolize resilience, supporting emotional processing of past challenges and identification of coping strategies. The fourth session, Mentalization, employs the metaphor of a rose garden to promote empathic awareness and enhance understanding of others’ emotional states. The final session, Visualizing the Future, returns to the original VR landscape, encouraging participants to integrate prior insights and imagine themselves achieving a future goal with renewed agency and coherence.
Methodology
The VR for Hope pilot study is currently being conducted at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan using a single-group, pre-post-intervention design. Its primary aim is to assess the feasibility, experiential quality, and preliminary psychological effects of a brief self-help protocol delivered through immersive VR. Prior to full implementation, a preliminary usability phase involving ten participants was conducted to optimize procedural clarity, refine instructional materials, and ensure technical reliability. The subsequent phase involves a larger sample of 60 Italian-speaking adults (aged 18 years and older), recruited through convenience and snowball sampling methods. Eligibility criteria include fluency in Italian, absence of current diagnoses of major depressive disorder or neurological conditions, and the cognitive-emotional capacity to engage with immersive VR and self-reflective content. The study has received ethical approval from the Ethics Committee for Psychological Research (Protocol 26/25).
The study employs a mixed-methods design, integrating both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to capture a comprehensive picture of the participants’ psychological functioning and experiential engagement. Quantitative assessment focuses on key constructs theoretically aligned with the intervention objectives, including dispositional hope, perceived mentalization, psychological well-being, and personality dimensions potentially influencing individual responsiveness to the protocol. Pre- and post-intervention data are collected through a secure online platform, and participants are assigned anonymized alphanumeric codes to ensure data protection and confidentiality. The inclusion of open-ended questions following each session enables the collection of qualitative data, allowing for the exploration of subjective experiences, emotional responses, and perceived impact. This dual approach enhances the ecological validity of the findings and supports a more nuanced interpretation of change processes associated with the intervention.
Preliminary Results
Although final quantitative analyses are still in progress, preliminary qualitative data provide valuable insights into participants’ subjective experiences with the VR for Hope protocol. Thematic analysis of open-ended responses, collected following each session, revealed consistent experiential categories, including enhanced concentration, increased motivation, emotional grounding, and introspective clarity. These themes suggest that the intervention effectively fosters affective engagement and promotes reflective self-awareness.
Participants described the sessions as opportunities to pause and reconnect with themselves amid daily stressors. For instance, one participant remarked: “It was a moment of clarity in a hectic routine, a space where I could pause and see myself from another angle.” Another noted, “During the narrative, I felt a sense of calm and connection with myself. I felt more centered, as if time had slowed down to let me reflect with greater clarity.” Such reflections underscore the capacity of immersive virtual environments to modulate internal tempo, thereby facilitating symbolic elaboration and deeper emotional processing. Importantly, several participants also reported a renewed awareness of personal strengths and psychological resources. One participant stated: “This exercise helped me realize that, even in moments of uncertainty, I have inner resources to face challenges. It left me with a sense of trust and increased awareness of my abilities.”
These accounts align with the protocol’s theoretical aim to promote internal agency and future-oriented thinking through experiential engagement with metaphor and narrative.
Conclusions
Taken together, these preliminary qualitative findings support the hypothesis that VR for Hope may activate core psychological processes—particularly symbolic integration, reflective function, and cognitive-emotional reappraisal—that underpin dispositional hope and mentalization.
Rather than offering hope as an externally derived solution, the protocol conceptualizes it as a dynamic, co-constructed experience arising from the participant’s reflective engagement with symbolically mediated autobiographical material. 6 This perspective aligns with contemporary theoretical models that conceptualize hope as an interplay of cognitive, emotional, and relational dimensions. 7 Moreover, the intervention draws upon the construct of epistemic trust—defined as the openness to receiving information as personally relevant and trustworthy. 8 By establishing a narrative framework that is both emotionally resonant and symbolically coherent, the VR environment facilitates a state of receptivity in which participants may revise maladaptive beliefs, enhance psychological flexibility, and consolidate internal resources.
Thus, VR for Hope exemplifies the potential of VR to serve not only as a technological tool but as a psychologically informed medium capable of facilitating developmental transformation. The protocol’s accessibility, scalability, and experiential depth position it as a promising intervention for promoting mental health and fostering future-oriented agency in young adults navigating the complex demands of contemporary life.
Footnotes
Author Disclosure Statement
No competing financial interests exist.
Funding Information
No funding was received for this article.