Augmented Psychology
Our project arises from the shared vision of creating cutting-edge tools to promote psychological well-being and facilitate therapeutic intervention.
We are psychologists and psychotherapists, technologists and artists, researchers and storytellers; all professionals with the awareness of the benefits that a transformative experience can bring to people’s lives.
Augmented Psychology
Augmented Psychology is an innovative psychological intervention using metaphorical experiences in Virtual Reality conceived on the basis of the last frontiers of neuroscientific research. Augmented Psychology allows psychologists/psychotherapists to use technological tools that can be easily applied in professional practice and specific protocols for different application areas: clinical, organizational, sports and relaxation.
Protocols and tools designed to immerse patients in virtual “stories of transformation”, which amplify emotional experiences, increasing elaboration and restructuring effectiveness, in the protected setting of the psychologist/psychotherapist‘s office.
Protocols and tools designed to facilitate and accelerate empowerment and change management, thanks to positive, motivating and engaging virtual immersive experiences, managed and elaborated by a psychologist trainer during individual or group sessions.
Protocols and tools designed to enable sports psychologists to support athletes in managing emotions and increasing resilience, develop skills to reduce anxieties affecting performance and promote self-efficacy in individual and team motivation.
Protocols and tools designed to facilitate relaxation, ease recovery from distres, relieve daily tension, thanks to virtual journeys drafted and sounded by wellbeing psychologists, based on modern discoveries in psychological and neurophysiological field.
IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES
FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL PRACTICE
Virtual Reality immersive experiences are the Augmented Psychology tools available for psychologists’ professional practice.
IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES
FOR RELAXATION
TRAINING COURSES
Advanced Training Courses in Augmented Psychology are aimed at Psychologists and Psychotherapists and at graduates in Psychology and Medicine.
The Certificate enabling the use of Augmented Psychology Protocols will be issued only to mental health professionals enrolled in their respective Professional Registers.
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APP SUBSCRIPTIONS
Augmented Psychology Virtual Reality app can be downloaded from Oculus Store only by certified psychologists with a valid yearly subscription.
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SCIENTIFIC BASES
BECOME started a scientific collaboration with Prof. Andrea Gaggioli from Catholic University of the Sacred Heart Psychology Department, in order to study immersive storytelling psychological effects and their applications to mental wellbeing promotion in clinical and organizational settings.
Augmented Psychology is based on the results of over twenty years of researches in the field of Virtual Reality applications in mental health and wellbeing. Below is a selection of meta-analysis and systematic reviews summarizing the main results of these researches. The results indicate the potential of Virtual Reality in different areas of psychotherapy, such as anxiety disorders, pain treatment, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and work-related stress.
Riva, G., Baños, R. M., Botella, C., Mantovani, F., & Gaggioli, A. (2016). Transforming Experience: The Potential of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality for Enhancing Personal and Clinical Change. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 7(164).
Gaggioli, A. (2016). Transformative Experience Design. In: Gaggioli, A., Ferscha, A., Riva, G., Viaud-Delmon, I. (Eds). Human Computer Confluence: Transforming Human Experience Through Symbiotic Technologies. De Gruyter Open: Warsaw.
Gaggioli, A., Riva, G. (2014). Psychological Treatments: Smart Tools Boost Mental-Health Care. Nature, 2014 Aug 7;512(7512):28.
Gaggioli, A., Riva, G., Peters, D., Calvo, R. A. Positive Technology, Computing, and Design: Shaping a Future in Which Technology Promotes Psychological Wellbeing. In: Jeon, M., (Ed.). Emotions and Affect in human factors and human–computer interaction. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Gaggioli, A., Pallavicini, F., Morganti, L., Serino, S., Scaratti, C., Briguglio, M., Crifaci, G., Vetrano, N., Giulintano, A., Bernava, G., Tartarisco, G., Pioggia, G., Raspelli, S., Cipresso, P., Vigna, C., Grassi, A., Baruffi, M., Wiederhold, B., Riva, G. (2014).
Experiential Virtual Scenarios With Real-Time Monitoring (Interreality) for the Management of Psychological Stress: A Block Randomized Controlled Trial. J Med Internet Res 2014;16(7):e167.
Liszio, S., Graf, L, Masuch, M. (2018). The Relaxing Effect of Virtual Nature – Immersive Technology Provides Relief in Acute Stress Situations (to appear). In Wiederhold, B. K. & Riva, G. (eds.), Annual Review of Cybertherapy and Telemedicine (ARCTT), Interactive Media Institute, San Diego, CA, USA.
Tarrant, J., Viczko, J., Cope, H. (2018). Virtual Reality for Anxiety Reduction Demonstrated by Quantitative EEG: A Pilot Study. Frontiers in Psychology.
Lindner, P., Miloff, A., Hamilton, W., Reuterskiöld, L., Andersson, G., Powers, M. B., & Carlbring, P. (2017). Creating State of the Art, Next-Generation Virtual Reality Exposure Therapies for Anxiety Disorders Using Consumer Hardware Platforms: Design Considerations. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 2017 Sep;46(5):404-420.
Maples-Keller, J. L., Bunnell, B. E., Kim, S. J., & Rothbaum, B. O. (2017). The Use of Virtual Reality Technology in the Treatment of Anxiety and Other Psychiatric Disorders. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 25(3), 103-113.
Botella, C., Fernández-Álvarez, J., Guillén, V., García-Palacios, A., & Baños, R. (2017). Recent Progress in Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Phobias: A Systematic Review. Current Psychiatry Reports, 19(7), 42.
Mishkind, M. C., Norr, A. M., Katz, A. C., & Reger, G. M. (2017). Review of Virtual Reality Treatment in Psychiatry: Evidence Versus Current Diffusion and Use. Current Psychiatry Reports, 19(11), 80.
van Bennekom, M. J., de Koning, P. P., & Denys, D. (2017). Virtual Reality Objectifies the Diagnosis of Psychiatric Disorders: A Literature Review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 8(163).
Rus-Calafell, M., Garety, P., Sason, E., Craig, T., & Valmaggia, L. (2017). Virtual Reality in the Assessment and Treatment of Psychosis: A Systematic Review of its Utility, Acceptability and Effectiveness. Psychological Medicine, 1-30.
Castelnuovo, G., Pietrabissa, G., Manzoni, G. M., Cattivelli, R., Rossi, A., Novelli, M., . . . Molinari, E. (2017). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Aid Weight Loss in Obese Patients: Current Perspectives. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 10, 165-173.
de Carvalho, M., Dias, T., Duchesne, M., Nardi, A., & Appolinario, J. (2017). Virtual Reality as a Promising Strategy in the Assessment and Treatment of Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorder: A Systematic Review. Behavioral Sciences, 7(3), 43.
Duffield, T. C., Parsons, T. D., Landry, A., Karam, S., Otero, T., Mastel, S., & Hall, T. A. (2017). Virtual Environments as an Assessment Modality with Pediatric ASD Populations: a Brief Report. Child Neuropsychology, 1-8. doi:10.1080/09297049.2017.1375473
Parsons, T. D., Riva, G., Parsons, S., Mantovani, F., Newbutt, N., Lin, L., . . . Hall, T. (2017). Virtual Reality in Pediatric Psychology. Pediatrics, 140(Suppl 2), S86-S91. doi:10.1542/peds.2016-1758I
Chirico, A., Yaden, D. B., Riva, G., Gaggioli, A. (2016). The Potential of Virtual Reality for the Investigation of Awe. Frontiers in Psychology.
Chirico, A., Cipresso, P., Yaden, D.B., Biassoni, F., Riva, G., Gaggioli, A. (2017). Effectiveness of Immersive Videos in Inducing Awe: An Experimental Study. Nature.
Gaggioli, A., Chirico, A., Magoni, S. (2018). Effects of autobiographical self-referencing on presence and emotions in immersive storytelling: An exploratory study.
BECOME develops highly realistic and customized Virtual Reality contents and environments for researchers and neuroscientists, respecting the requirements of experimental and ecological validity settings, through collaboration with prestigious scientific institutions.
INSTITUTIONS
BECOME signed a memorandum of understanding with the Lombardy Board of Psychologists (OPL), stipulated a collaboration agreement for research with Catholic University of the Sacred Heart and includes among its clients the Department of Psychology at Stanford University.
Management Staff
LUCA BERNARDELLI
CEO
luca.bernardelli@become-hub.com
He works as psychologist and he’s specialized in positive technology solutions development. Focused on technostress studies, he designed and released Relaxity VR, one of the first Virtual Reality experiences dedicated to distress recovery.
With twenty years of sales experience in Tech Enterprises, he’s co-founder of Bowman, a Milan start-up vendor focused on Big Data and Machine Learning platforms, and founder of the mainstream portal dedicated to memorable and transformative experiences PersonalDreamer.com.
FRANCESCA SFORZA
Director of Psychology
francesca.sforza@become-hub.com
Psychologist specialized in psychoanalytic-psychosomatic psychotherapy at ANEB Institute (National Association of Eco-Biopsychology), hypnologist and hypnotherapist, she practices in her studio in Monza.
Psychological Consultant for the Court, she has focused on the traumatic stress treatment through EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapeutic approach, and she’s an expert in Autogenic Training.
MAURIZIO RABUFFI
Clinical Area Scientific Director
maurizio.rabuffi@become-hub.com
Psychologist, Psychotherapist in training at the School of Specialization in Short Psychotherapies with a Strategic approach of the Institute for the Study of Psychotherapies. Expert in clinical hypnosis, imaginative techniques, mindfulness, EMDR, neuro-linguistic programming and psychodrama, he has deepened hypnosis use in clinical field for anxiety, depression, phobias, pain and addictions treatments. He’s author of the book “Hypnosis in practice. The induction of the trance and its application in the clinical field“.
ALBERTO MAGNI
Creative Director
alberto.magni@become-hub.com
Active in the field of design and creativity since the dawn of computer graphics, he is founder of Studio 360, a partner of the largest Italian communication agencies in 3D design for international brands campaigns and projects. A pioneer in 3D printing, he creates unique pieces using the most innovative techniques and the most sophisticated 3D printing machines. The innate desire of innovation led him to explore the opportunities of Virtual Reality, technology allowing him to create scenarios with infinite narrative and application possibilities.
ELEONORA SALADINO
Corporate Training & Development Manager
eleonora.saladino@become-hub.com
Graduated in Economics, in Disciplines of Psychosocial Research, in Work Psychology and Positive Psychology, she practices as “Positive organizational psychologist”, economist, negotiation teacher in sales and neuroselling techniques and she’s an Honorary Fellow at Catholic University of Milan. Founder of Sevolutions & Partners, she plans and provides training and personal and organizational development. Promoter of human mind potentials as a tool for continuous evolution, she is the author of “DNA of Sales” book.
SIMONE POLI
Communication & Institutional Relations Manager
simone.poli@become-hub.com
With twenty years of management experience in Social Enterprise field, he gained interest in every sustainable and replicable form of promoting personal wellbeing. He takes care and develop institutional relationships for different organizations, as Director or member of boards. With a university education in the humanistic field and cult of musical subject, he combines multidisciplinary experiences focusing on study, experimentation and research in sound and perceptive field.
GABRIELE GRAMAGLIA
Director of Studies & Community Manager
gabriele.gramaglia@become-hub.com
Psychologist, Psychotherapist in training at SEPI (European School of Hypnotic Psychotherapy), receives patients at his private office in Legnano. He’s a supervisor in the psychiatric ODA Consortium clinics the and he’s co-founder of La Crescita Training Center projecting training courses for individuals, companies and schools. He has been involved in Corporate communication for over 30 years, and he’s the author of the books “Virtual Reality in Psychotherapy – Science or Science Fiction?” and “Virtual Communities and Social Networks – Analysis of Psycho-Social Characteristics“.