World Art Therapy Festival - Bridging Real and Virtual Environments: Augmenting Virtual Reality as a Path to Embodiment
This workshop will explore the integration of 360° film in therapeutic and personal development settings, focusing on how immersive experiences can enhance body awareness, emotional regulation, and overall well-being.
Biography
Loredana Larionescu is a psychotherapist specializing in dance movement therapy, with degrees from the University of Paris 8 and the University of Bucharest. She leads cultural-therapeutic projects and has presented at international conferences. Konrad Mihat, a visual media creator, studied film production and co-founded coVR Videos, focusing on immersive media. Their collaboration began in 2021, integrating panoramic video into therapy through Entuziart’s dance research. They later created Amnio Arthera(pi) (2023), a panoramic film on Amniotic therapy. Together, they explore new technologies for artistic and therapeutic applications, including VR storytelling and 3D drawing for therapy.
We will present two applications of panoramic films created by our team in affective and movement-based interventions, highlighting their potential for fostering deep mind-body connections.
- Amniotic artheraπ, a 360° film that immerses participants in fluid, organic motion, combined with an in-person, hands-on, affective touch and weight-support intervention. This approach enhances participants’ sense of safety, relaxation, and connection with their bodily sensations.
- Danstopic Panoramic, a film utilized in a burnout prevention workshop, where participants will transition from immersive viewing to a body-mapping and dance movement therapy intervention, encouraging participants to externalize emotions and reconnect with their physical presence through creative movement and an aesthetic dialogue with their drawn body-map.
Throughout this experiential workshop, we will try out directly and discuss the effects of these interventions on various groups, emphasizing key findings related to sensory integration, emotional expression, and self-regulation. Additionally, we will address critical technical and ethical considerations, including the importance of trauma-informed and empathetic facilitation, the necessity for aesthetically enriching VR experiences (beyond purely functional applications), and strategies for evaluating therapeutic outcomes using mixed-methods research designs.
Attendees will gain insight into how immersive media can be thoughtfully incorporated into art therapy and movement-based practices. The session will include interactive components where participants will experience first-hand how 360° film can be used to create embodied, therapeutic experiences. The discussion will also open pathways for further research and interdisciplinary collaboration, particularly in designing VR interventions that prioritize artistic depth, psychological safety, and therapeutic effectiveness.
This workshop is ideal for art therapists, movement therapists, psychologists, and creative practitioners interested in integrating immersive technologies into therapeutic contexts. No prior experience with VR or 360° film is required—only an openness to exploring new dimensions of sensory and embodied storytelling in therapeutic practice.
