FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NewPathVR to be Showcased at Connect with Tech Week at the San Francisco Library
Community Seniors and Families to Explore the Capabilities of Virtual Reality
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, May 8, 2018 – NewPathVR, an emotional intelligence company building virtual reality experiences for anxiety and depression, today announced plans to bring virtual reality to the community at the Connect with Tech event held by the San Francisco Library, May 7–12, 2018.
Connect with Tech Week is a citywide initiative comprised of events spearheaded by the San Francisco Public Library to promote online access and technology skill-building and to reduce digital disparities in our communities. The programs are free and open to the public. Tech training programs ranging from basic computer skills to beginning coding classes will be offered throughout the library system and partnering locations. Library staff, tech workers and industry professionals will be on hand to help bridge the digital divide and improve your quality of life.
“There’s still some apprehension about virtual technologies, but we love to see what we call ‘conversion on contact’ when a person finally puts a headset on and finds themselves in the immersive world for a few moments,” said Lisa Padilla, CEO of NewPathVR, “we’ve trained hundreds of people how to use VR, many for their first time, and the general reaction is beautiful, it’s not what people expect, people tend to be pleasantly surprised.”
More than 100,000 San Francisco residents lack Internet access at home and/or are not proficient at using the Internet and digital devices. As more basic services are moving online, many are left behind, especially seniors, people with disabilities and low-income families. They lack the knowledge or support to use the Internet and gain digital skills, and view the Internet as difficult, unsafe to use or irrelevant. Last year more than 2,000 people participated in this annual event; gaining knowledge and resources to help them in the ever increasing tech required world.
Access to technology, especially new tech, is a problem for which NewPathVR believes we can break down the walls. As prices come down and software becomes more widely available, with platforms such as RenewVR.com, we believe the wellness applications that will serve to change lives can reach those underserved populations.
Find NewPathVR showcased at the Tech Expo at the San Francisco Library on Thursday, May 10, 1- 3 p.m., Main Library, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102.
About NewPathVR
NewPathVR is the creator of personal development and emotional intelligence applications in virtual reality. The company uses research-based methods from its proprietary Active PsychologyTM library to create wellness applications for VR with the goal of evoking positive change through conscious technology. We also teach accredited courses in VR Psychology and power the world’s first VR wellness portal — RenewVR.com.
Contact:
Ashild Fossum
Marketing and PR
NewPathVR
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
1390 Market Street #2710
San Francisco, CA 94102
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NewPathVR Recognizes National Mental Health Awareness Month
Life With a Mental Illness Theme Highlights Importance of Speaking Up, Sharing What Mental Health Feels like with a #30DaysofMentalHealth #vrpsychology Campaign
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, May 1, 2018 —When mental illnesses or disorders are talked about, the language typically used to describe them tends to be clinical and impersonal. These words, while useful for doctors or clinicians, often don’t do justice to what life with a mental illness feels like. That is why this year’s theme for May is Mental Health Month—Life With a Mental Illness—is a call to action to share what life with a mental illness feels like to someone going through it.
Mental Health Awareness Month was started in the United States in 1949 by the Mental Health America organization (then known as the National Association for Mental Health). This year, we are building off of the Mental Health America message and encouraging individuals to give voice to what it really means to live at stages 1, 2, 3, and 4 of mental illness. Life with a mental illness is meant to help remove the shame and stigma of speaking out so that more people can be comfortable coming out of the shadows and seeking the help they need. “Mental illnesses are common and better treatable with transformative technologies and new therapies such as virtual reality,” said Lisa Padilla, CEO of NewPathVR. “Sharing and education are keys to breaking down the stigma surrounding mental illnesses and to showing others that they are not alone in their feelings and their symptoms.”
This Mental Health Month, we are encouraging people to speak up through words, stories, and artistic expression about how it feels to live with a mental illness by tagging social media posts with #30DaysofMentalHeath and #vrpsychology. Posting with our hashtag is a way to speak up, to share your point of view with people who may be struggling to explain what they are going through—and help others figure out if they too are showing signs of a mental illness.
NewPathVR will be creating emotional expression pieces through art throughout the month which can be followed on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/newpathvrinc. We will be using Google Tilt Brush to perform a bodymapping art therapy exercise to express and identify emotions.
One day, there may be virtual reality software available specifically for certain art therapy exercises, like bodymapping. Sarah Ticho is working on one such application. "Bodymapping has been an undervalued method for exploring human stories for some time, I am excited that say that we are developing a Hatsumi, a body mapping platform with additional features to enhance user experience and provide psychological safety. Hatsumi is receiving additional support from experts in the field of bodymapping and the Stanford Virtual Reality Immersive Technology Lab, where it will undergo early trials with patients at the end of this month. The application is designed for behavioral healthcare providers to integrate into existing therapies, and eventually for public use and academic research exploring the phenomenology of human experience." Presently, Google's Tilt Brush offers a wide variety of brushes and textures to paint and sculpt with for advanced artists and beginners. You can take a look at this month's bodymapping examples created in Tilt Brush on the Facebook timeline facebook.com/lisapadilla.
Speaking out about what mental illness feels like can encourage others to recognize symptoms early on in the disease process, and empower individuals to be agents in their own recovery. “Prevention, early identification, intervention, and integrated services work,” concluded Dr. Michelle Wang, NewPathVR's Chief Psychology Officer, “are all powerful tools in fighting behavioral conditions that affect so many of us. Telling people how life with a mental illness feels helps build support from friends and family, reduces stigma and discrimination, and is crucial to recovery.”
About NewPathVR
NewPathVR is the creator of personal development and emotional intelligence applications in virtual reality. The company uses research-based methods from its proprietary Active PsychologyTM library to create wellness applications for VR with the goal of evoking positive change through conscious technology. We also teach accredited courses in VR Psychology and power the world’s first VR wellness portal — RenewVR.com.
Contact:
Ashild Fossum
Marketing and PR
NewPathVR
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
1390 Market Street #2710
San Francisco, CA 94102
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
VR Provides Revolutionary New Therapies for Mental Health
SAN FRANCISCO, April 2, 2018 – The U.S. is not prepared to meet today's mental health patient population demands. There is a behavioral healthcare professional shortage of thousands reported by the Health Resources and Services Administration and clinicians are challenged to meet the 20% Americans who are suffering from mental illness every year according to the National Institute on Mental Illness of which more than half never receive treatment.
NewPathVR is working with the San Francisco Psychological Association to train mental health clinicians on the therapeutic use of virtual reality. "NewPathVR is excited to partner with the San Francisco Psychological Association to advance both our missions to promote and enrich the science and practice of psychology for the health and welfare of the greater public," said Lisa Padilla, CEO of NewPathVR. "As the first partner of choice for the SFPA in the delivery of VR Psychology training, we plan to leverage our expertise and our network to deliver continuing education courses and workshops.
The first courses are being held in San Francisco and will serve the region, with plans to expand nationwide by the end of the year. NewPathVR will offer psychological associations in the SF Bay Area and healthcare institutions VR Psychology courses that teach practical therapeutic applications of VR Psychology, including Advanced VR Psychology, and VR Art Therapy. NewPathVR’s goal is to continue developing protocols and training for the use of VR in clinical settings that align with the ethics and standards of governing bodies such as American Psychological Association.
“We are very pleased for the opportunity to deliver VR Psychology training to licensed clinicians and graduate students in the area of emotional and psychological growth. We’ve been actively pursuing these trainings since the very beginning, almost as soon as we recognized the potential of VR-assisted therapies. To be received with not only open arms but curious hearts and fascinated minds instills us with excitement that professional healers see what we see. It is of the utmost importance that people not suffer needlessly and, though no one tool can be the answer, of course, we believe VR-assisted therapies - when done with intention - can be an affordable and potent tool for both the releasing and reforming of neuropsychological patterns.” said Dr. Michelle Wang, Chief Psychology Officer of NewPathVR.
"I was dazzled by the [course] and awed at the potential of VR for treating psychological suffering. I discovered that some of the potential is already here." said Dr. Bruce F. Pither, past president of the San Francisco Psychological Association. Padilla added, "Joining forces with organizations like the San Francisco Psychological Association to make our training available to more people around the world is essential to our mission and we are excited at the possibilities this collaboration will provide."
There have been 3000 studies over the past 30 years showing positive behavioral changes achieved through the use of virtual reality. Interventions with immersive environments have been created for the relief of stress, anxiety, stress, depression, PTSD, ADHD, Autism, Alzheimer's Disease, and more.
About NewPathVR
NewPathVR is the creator of personal development and emotional intelligence applications in virtual reality. The company uses research-based methods from its proprietary Active PsychologyTM library to create wellness applications for VR with the goal of evoking positive change through conscious technology. We also teach accredited courses in VR Psychology and power the world’s first VR wellness portal — RenewVR.com.
Contact:
Ashild Fossum
Marketing and PR
NewPathVR
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
1390 Market Street #2710
San Francisco, CA 94102
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