Warriors’ Journey: a path to healing through narrative exploration
-
Jacquelyn F. Morie
,
Edward Haynes
Abstract
The Warriors’ Journey is an interactive narrative experience that is part of the online, virtual world healing space of the Coming Home Project (www.cominghomecenter.org) at the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies. This project is exploring new ways to reach veterans who are returning from recent conflicts and who often have mental health issues or difficulty fitting back into their home communities. We are looking at the affordances of online 3D virtual worlds to address some of the issues that may prevent or deter veterans from getting the help they need. We are exploring the use of specific therapies within the virtual world space, as well as social and enrichment activities designed around the needs of this group. The Warriors’ Journey is one such activity that engages participants in stories to emphasize and reinforce common ideals of honorable warriors throughout history. After experiencing these stories, participants are then encouraged to construct their own warrior’s story within the Coming Home space. It is hoped that such activities may help contribute to a more positive sense of self-esteem, a restructured life narrative, and a feeling of control over the stresses incurred during their service to their country.
©2011 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin New York
Articles in the same Issue
- Editorial
- Disability, virtual reality, ArtAbilitation and music
- Reviews
- Customising games for non-formal rehabilitation
- Aphasic theatre or theatre boosting self-esteem
- Warriors’ Journey: a path to healing through narrative exploration
- CaDaReMi. An educational interactive music game
- Extending body and imagination: moving to move
- Original Articles
- Making music with images: interactive audiovisual performance systems for the deaf
- An infrared sound and music controller for users with specific needs
- Sound=Space Opera: choreographing life within an interactive musical environment
- Cognitive effects of video games on old people
- Providing disabled persons in developing countries access to computer games through a novel gaming input device
- Voice articulatory training with a talking robot for the auditory impaired
- Using augmented reality to support the understanding of three-dimensional concepts by blind people
- Augmented reality application for the navigation of people who are blind
- Case Report
- Unintentional intrusive participation in multimedia interactive environments
- Listening to complexity: blind people’s learning about gas particles through a sonified model
Articles in the same Issue
- Editorial
- Disability, virtual reality, ArtAbilitation and music
- Reviews
- Customising games for non-formal rehabilitation
- Aphasic theatre or theatre boosting self-esteem
- Warriors’ Journey: a path to healing through narrative exploration
- CaDaReMi. An educational interactive music game
- Extending body and imagination: moving to move
- Original Articles
- Making music with images: interactive audiovisual performance systems for the deaf
- An infrared sound and music controller for users with specific needs
- Sound=Space Opera: choreographing life within an interactive musical environment
- Cognitive effects of video games on old people
- Providing disabled persons in developing countries access to computer games through a novel gaming input device
- Voice articulatory training with a talking robot for the auditory impaired
- Using augmented reality to support the understanding of three-dimensional concepts by blind people
- Augmented reality application for the navigation of people who are blind
- Case Report
- Unintentional intrusive participation in multimedia interactive environments
- Listening to complexity: blind people’s learning about gas particles through a sonified model
