CounselAR: Exploring How AR Filters Facilitate Online Psychotherapy In the Wild With South Korean Young Adults
Noh H., Chishti SMK., Jo H., Newhouse N., Kim S., Van Kleek M., Kang Y.
In a society where mental health issues are prevalent, engagement with psychotherapy remains low due to stigma and accessibility barriers. Telepsychotherapy offers a potential solution but holds challenges, including difficulties in encouraging open self-disclosure and ease of access. In this paper, we introduce CounselAR, an augmented reality (AR)-mediated therapy service designed to facilitate one-on-one therapy sessions by allowing both client and therapist to use AR filters to maintain varying degrees of anonymity. Through a six-week field deployment involving nine clients and four therapists, we explored how AR-mediated therapy might support psychotherapy from both the clients' and therapists' perspectives. The results illustrate the potential role of AR filters in enhancing self-disclosure, building rapport, and lowering entry barriers to psychotherapy. Drawing on these findings, we discuss the nuanced role of AR filters and the implications of leveraging AR in psychotherapy.