Reimagining Mental Health Support for a Digital Age
Researchers at Queen’s are using digital and immersive technologies to transform mental health care, education, and professional training. Leading this work is Professor Paul Best, Director of the TIME Centre (Centre for Technological Innovation, Mental Health and Education). Drawing on his background as a social worker and cognitive behavioural therapist, Paul’s research explores how tools like virtual reality (VR), 360° video, and AI can open up new pathways to therapy and learning. His work illustrates Queen’s broader commitment to tackling mental health challenges through innovation, collaboration, and impact.
Research Challenge
Bridging the Mental Health Care Gap
Mental health disorders are among the leading causes of disability worldwide, yet services remain overstretched and unevenly distributed. In Northern Ireland, high levels of trauma and mental ill health highlight the urgent need for accessible, scalable interventions. At the same time, health and social care professionals often lack opportunities for immersive, hands-on training in safe environments. The challenge is twofold:
- How can we harness digital innovation to reach more people in need of support?
- How can we better prepare frontline professionals to respond to those needs?
Our Approach
From Virtual Therapy to Immersive Training
At Queen’s, researchers blend psychology, social work, and technology to develop innovative digital tools that respond to real-world needs. Professor Best and colleagues focus on three key areas:
Immersive therapies: Using VR and 360° environments to support people with PTSD, depression, and social anxiety, including low-cost trauma-focused interventions co-designed with service users.
Professional training: Creating AI enhanced, simulations that allow health and social care professionals to practice empathy, decision-making, and clinical skills in realistic but safe digital settings.
Participatory research: Pioneering methods such as Participatory Theme Elicitation (PTE), which directly involves service users and practitioners in analysing data and shaping interventions.
This co-production ethos ensures that solutions are practical, engaging, and grounded in lived experience.
"Digital technology is not about replacing traditional therapy - it’s about extending the reach of mental health support to those who might otherwise never access it. At Queen’s, we’re ensuring these innovations are safe, evidence-based, and capable of transforming real lives."
- Professor Paul Best
What impact did it make?
Shaping Practice and Policy
The work of Paul Best and the TIME Centre is already influencing how mental health care and training are delivered:
- Policy leadership: Paul is co-leading the development of Northern Ireland’s first Digital Mental Health Action Plan, part of the NI Mental Health Strategy (2021-2031)
- Scaling innovation: Queen’s research has led to prototypes and pilot interventions in community services, and trauma care, showing that VR-based tools can be adapted across settings
- Training impact: Immersive simulations are supporting the next generation of social workers, psychologists, and healthcare professionals
- International reach: Collaborations in Belgium, Canada, the USA, and Taiwan are testing digital mental health tools across cultures and clinical contexts
- Together, these advances are helping reshape how therapy is delivered, how professionals are trained, and how communities are supported
Our impact
Impact related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Queen’s University’s commitment to nurturing a culture of sustainability and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through research and education.
