Virtual reality may help earthquake survivors read emotions better

This trial investigates whether two psychological interventions—psychodrama and virtual reality (VR)-supported psychoeducation—can improve facial emotion recognition skills in adults who survived the February 2023 earthquakes in Turkey. Participants, aged 25 to 60, are randomly assigned to either 13 weekly psychodrama sessions or 10 weekly CBT-based psychoeducation sessions with VR content. The study uses an AI-based facial emotion recognition system to measure changes in how participants identify and respond to emotions like happiness, sadness, and fear. The goal is to see if these approaches can help reduce negative emotions and boost positive ones, potentially informing future post-disaster mental health support.