Raul Szekely
Postgraduate Research Student
BSc (Hons), MSc, AFHEA
Academic and research departments
Digital World Research Centre, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences.About
My research project
Using immersive VR to challenge mental health stigma in healthcare educationHealthcare professionals, as with the general public, often hold stigmatising attitudes toward mental illness, which can negatively impact the quality of care provided to people with mental health conditions, including their treatment for physical ailments. However, healthcare professionals can also be powerful agents of change in challenging stigma and improving mental health care. To achieve this, it is fundamental to transform mental health education and training by placing people's lived experiences at its core and supporting future healthcare professionals in developing an empathetic, non-stigmatising understanding of mental illness.
My PhD research draws on the interdisciplinary fields of media studies, psychology, and healthcare education to explore the potential of immersive virtual reality (VR) as a tool for challenging mental health stigma among healthcare students and trainees. Specifically, I am investigating the efficacy and underlying mechanisms of VR applications such as serious games that depict the experiences of people with severe mental health conditions, such as psychosis and schizophrenia. By immersing future healthcare professionals in these virtual narratives, it is expected that they will cultivate more positive attitudes toward mental illness and effectively reduce stigma.
A collaborative and participative approach is central to the project, involving ongoing engagement with lived experience experts, healthcare educators, and VR developers. The ultimate goal is to successfully co-produce and integrate VR-based tools and interventions, grounded in a sound evidence base, into mental health education and improve the care and outcomes of patients with mental health conditions.
Supervisors
Healthcare professionals, as with the general public, often hold stigmatising attitudes toward mental illness, which can negatively impact the quality of care provided to people with mental health conditions, including their treatment for physical ailments. However, healthcare professionals can also be powerful agents of change in challenging stigma and improving mental health care. To achieve this, it is fundamental to transform mental health education and training by placing people's lived experiences at its core and supporting future healthcare professionals in developing an empathetic, non-stigmatising understanding of mental illness.
My PhD research draws on the interdisciplinary fields of media studies, psychology, and healthcare education to explore the potential of immersive virtual reality (VR) as a tool for challenging mental health stigma among healthcare students and trainees. Specifically, I am investigating the efficacy and underlying mechanisms of VR applications such as serious games that depict the experiences of people with severe mental health conditions, such as psychosis and schizophrenia. By immersing future healthcare professionals in these virtual narratives, it is expected that they will cultivate more positive attitudes toward mental illness and effectively reduce stigma.
A collaborative and participative approach is central to the project, involving ongoing engagement with lived experience experts, healthcare educators, and VR developers. The ultimate goal is to successfully co-produce and integrate VR-based tools and interventions, grounded in a sound evidence base, into mental health education and improve the care and outcomes of patients with mental health conditions.
University roles and responsibilities
- Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA)
- Academic Tutor
My qualifications
2022 - Ongoing
PhD Applied Psychology
University of Surrey
2020 - 2021
MSc Organisational Psychiatry and Psychology (Distinction)
King's College London
2017 - 2020
BSc Psychology (First Class Honours)
Brunel University London
Business, industry and community links
Ad-hoc reviewer
- DIGITAL HEALTH (Sage Publications)
- Professional Psychology: Research and Practice (American Psychological Association)
- Journal of Advanced Nursing (Wiley)
- European Congress of Psychology (European Federation of Psychologists' Associations)
- BMC Medical Education (Springer Nature)
- Conference of the Media Psychology Division (Die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Psychologie/German Psychological Association)
- Cyberpsychology Section Annual Conference (British Psychological Society)
ResearchResearch interests
- Mental health stigma
- Healthcare education & training
- Psychosocial interventions in applied settings
- Gamification, serious games, VR
- Accessibility & inclusivity in digital technologies
Research interests
- Mental health stigma
- Healthcare education & training
- Psychosocial interventions in applied settings
- Gamification, serious games, VR
- Accessibility & inclusivity in digital technologies
Teaching
I support teaching and learning activities across the following modules as a Graduate Teaching Assistant:
- Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis (PSY1020/PSYM094)
- Social Psychology with Research Methods 1 (PSY1019) and 2 (PSY2016)
- Psychology of Global Challenges (PSY1033)
- Psychology and Game Design 2 (PSYM155)
Publications
Highlights
Peer-reviewed journal articles
- Szekely, R., Holloway, C., & Bandukda, M. (2025). Understanding the psychosocial impact of assistive technologies for people with visual impairments: Protocol for a scoping review. JMIR Research Protocols, 14, e65056. https://doi.org/10.2196/65056
- Szekely, R., Mason, O., Frohlich, D., & Barley, E. (2024). Acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary evaluation of an animated VR game for reducing mental health stigma in healthcare students and trainees: A mixed-method study. Mental Health and Digital Technologies, 1(2), 173-192. https://doi.org/10.1108/MHDT-03-2024-0010
- Szekely, R., Mazreku, S., Bignell, A., Fadel, C., Iannelli, H., Vega, M.O., O'Sullivan, O.P., Tiley, C., & Attoe, C. (2024). The efficacy of psychoeducation to improve personal skills and well-being among health-care professionals returning to clinical practice: a pilot pre-post study. The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice, 19(2), 61-73. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMHTEP-11-2022-0089
- Szekely, R., Mason, O., Frohlich, D., & Barley, E. (2024). ‘It’s not everybody’s snapshot. It’s just an insight into that world’: A qualitative study of multiple perspectives towards understanding the mental health experience and addressing stigma in healthcare students through virtual reality. Digital Health, 10, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076231223801
- Szekely, R., Mason, O., Frohlich, D., & Barley, E. (2023). The use of virtual reality to reduce mental health stigma among healthcare and non-healthcare students: a systematic review. Behaviour & Information Technology, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2023.2232049
- Wranik, W. D., Szekely, R. R., Mayer, S., Hiligsmann, M., & Cheung, K. L. (2021). The most important facilitators and barriers to the use of Health Technology Assessment in Canada: a best–worst scaling approach. Journal of Medical Economics, 24(1), 846-856. https://doi.org/10.1080/13696998.2021.1946326
Posters & oral presentations
- Szekely, R. (2025, January 14). Virtual reality as an innovative tool for mental health education and training [Oral presentation]. School of Health Sciences Insights Symposium 2025, University of Surrey, Guildford, England.
- Szekely, R. (2024, October 1). 'It's not everybody's snapshot. It's just an insight into that world': A qualitative study of multiple perspectives towards understanding the mental health experience and addressing stigma in healthcare students through virtual reality (VR) [Oral presentation]. People and Technology Research Group Meeting, University College Cork, Cork, Republic of Ireland.
- Szekely, R., Mason, O., Frohlich, D., & Barley, E. (2024, June 19-21). Acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary evaluation of an animated virtual reality (VR) game for reducing mental health stigma in healthcare students and trainees [Oral presentation]. Second International Digital Mental Health and Wellbeing Conference, Ulster University, Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
- Szekely, R. (2024, May 23). Acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary evaluation of an animated virtual reality (VR) game for reducing mental health stigma in healthcare student and trainees [Oral presentation]. School of Psychology Research Student Conference 2024, University of Surrey, Guildford, England.
- Szekely, R. (2024, March 12). Acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary evaluation of an animated virtual reality (VR) game for reducing mental health stigma in healthcare students and trainees [Oral presentation]. Health Psychology Research Group Meeting, School of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, England.
- Szekely, R. (2023, November 29). 'It's not everybody's snapshot. It's just an insight into that world': A qualitative study of multiple perspectives towards understanding the mental health experience and addressing stigma in healthcare students through virtual reality (VR) [Oral presentation]. Maternal, Child and Family Health Research Cluster Meeting, School of Health Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, England.
- Szekely, R., Mason, O., Frohlich, D., & Barley, E. (2023, November 9–10). 'It's not everybody's snapshot. It's just an insight into that world': A qualitative study of multiple perspectives towards understanding the mental health experience and addressing stigma in healthcare students through virtual reality (VR) [Poster presentation]. International Virtual Reality in Mental Health Conference, University Medical Centre, Groningen, the Netherlands.
- Szekely, R., Mason, O., Frohlich, D., & Barley, E. (2023, June 13–14). The use of virtual reality (VR) to reduce mental health stigma among healthcare and non-healthcare students: a systematic review [Poster presentation]. British Psychological Society (BPS) Division of Health Psychology Annual Conference 2023 ‘Current challenges and innovative solutions in Health Psychology’, Sheffield, England.
- Szekely, R. (2023, April 20). Virtual reality (VR) to tackle mental health stigma in healthcare students: Research progress and next steps [Poster presentation]. School of Psychology Research Student Conference 2023, University of Surrey, Guildford, England.
- Szekely, R. (2022, May 3). Mental health and well-being among Intensive Care Unit (ICU) staff: An occupational psychology perspective [Oral presentation]. Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre Monthly Learning Hour, London, England.
Other publications
- Szekely, R., Mason, O., & Frohlich, D. (2024, December 12). Mental illness portrayals in video games: Can they do good? Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/surrey-minds/202412/mental-illness-portrayals-in-video-games-can-they-do-good
- Szekely, R. (2024). A health psychology for all: The case of mental health in health research – Reflections from the DHP conference and ways forward. Health Psychology Update, 33(1), 36-40. https://doi.org/10.53841/bpshpu.2024.33.1.36
- Szekely, R., & Ciobanu, C. (2024). Mental health and wellbeing of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) staff: An occupational psychology perspective. Occupational Psychology Outlook, 3(1), 36-43. https://doi.org/10.53841/bpsopo.2024.3.1.36
- Farmer, G., & Szekely, R. (2024, January 29). The acceptability of serious games for the management of mental health: A brief review of published work. MultiPlay - The Network for Multidisciplinary Research on Digital Play and Games. https://multiplaynetwork.org/2024/01/29/the-acceptability-of-serious-games-for-the-management-of-mental-health-a-brief-review-of-published-work-by-george-farmer-raul-szekely/
- Szekely, R. (2020). Humans are social beings, but to what extent? PsychTalk, 1(96), 10-12. https://doi.org/10.53841/bpstalk.2020.1.96.10