CPH and local governments partner to employ VR training for crisis management

Taylor Thomas — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 14:48:46 +0000

CPH and local governments partner to employ VR training for crisis management Taylor Thomas Tue, 03/03/2026 - 09:48

A local crisis hotline receives a call about a 17-year-old displaying signs of emotional distress. The county Crisis Response Team is dispatched to the scene. Upon arrival, the team must empathically engage with the teen, assess risk for self-harm, and de-escalate in a supportive way—while simultaneously observing important context like substance use, housing instability, social isolation, and any other immediate health concerns.

This scenario requires situational awareness, adaptability, decisiveness, teamwork, empathy, and a trauma-informed approach. Crisis responders must be thoroughly prepared to enter these emergency situations—and soon students and practitioners will be able to use virtual reality to train for scenarios just like this.

VR headsets in the Lab for Immersive Technologies and Simulation.

Holly Matto, social work professor, and co-PI, Emily Ihara, are teaming up with partners from Fairfax City and Loudoun County to develop an AI-enabled virtual reality training for Crisis Response Teams to manage substance use crises. With support from a Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority grant, they will work with 911��’s College of Public Health and its Lab for Immersive Technologies and Simulation.

“The college’s Immersive Technologies and Simulation Lab provides an experiential learning environment for students and our community partners. This new VR case simulation specific to community crisis response can enhance interprofessional communication and team coordination skills essential to effective crisis outcomes,” said Matto, professor in the Department of Social Work

The project aligns with the Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority’s mission to address the opioid epidemic by funding efforts to assist individuals suffering from opioid use disorders and co-occurring substance use and mental illness. The goal is to enhance crisis response teams’ competency while learning how to maximize each team member’s expertise during a crisis response and post-crisis event.

How it works

Think back to the example of a crisis team responding to a 17-year-old displaying signs of emotional distress. Learning objectives for this VR scenario are:

Identify immediate additional risk screening necessary following an initial assessment.
Demonstrate therapeutic communication techniques (ex., active listening, offering affirmations) to establish trust and rapport with youth experiencing a mental health crisis.
Use evidence-based de-escalation techniques, like strategic change of the immediate sensory experience, such as walking together to a new location.
Maintain the safety, dignity, and autonomy of all using trauma-informed principles.
Collaborate with the crisis response team to coordinate roles and responsibilities during and after, ensuring a unified trauma-informed approach.

“Our newest lab VR technology platform allows for timely customized case development where we can work with our community partners to co-design and test new VR cases most relevant to the conditions seen on-the-ground,” said Matto.

Lesley Abashian, director of human services at the City of Fairfax, is the community partner lead. They are also working with the Atwood Foundation’s peer supports and the Loudoun County Opioid Coordinator.

Thumbnail image via Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority.

In This Story

Holly Matto, PhD, LCSW-C

Emily Ihara, PhD, MSW, FGSA

Key Takeaways:

Social work professors Holly Matto and Emily Ihara, in partnership with Fairfax City and Loudon County, will use a Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority grant to develop VR training for Crisis Response Teams in Northern Virginia to manage substance use crises.
911��’s College of Public Health and its Lab for Immersive Technologies and Simulation will facilitate the training using customized, real-life scenarios of substance use crises, co-developed with the community partner team.
Crisis management teams will engage in interprofessional, trauma-informed case simulations designed to enhance response to problematic opioid use in the community.

Topics

Lab for Immersive Technologies and Simulation

College of Public Health

Social Work Faculty

Research