SLANGLIFE - SL’ang Life Magazine hosted a conference the past weekend on “Mental Health in Second Life: Potential Chances and Threats.” The conference was attended by 25 physicians, therapists, social workers and mental health professionals all experienced in addictions, human mentality, etc. Avalon Birke is a therapist in real life as well as on SL. She runs Wellness Island and produces the Wellness Magazine. Birke focused on presenting techniques for finding legitimate, ethical help and therapy in-world.

    SL offers the potential client anonymity, which may be helpful for those who have no therapists in the area or who are embarrassed to seek real life help. However, in-world professionals may not be who they say they are, claiming credentials they do not have. Clients are advised to check qualifications before beginning therapy. Kourosh Eusebio combines psychiatry with music in his practice, as well as teaching meditation with music. Although Eusebio does prescribe medication in real life, he does not in the real life world. Eusebio believes that SL can help in treating mental health issues, caused by events in real life. “We tend to bring our foibles into the virtual worlds as we have them in the real world, as such they may be examined as well.

     The difficulties are there – one I can name off the top of my head is the empathic connection that may be different in SL versus in RL. We see faces and can react to expression in RL, but anyone who has been here knows and realizes that emotions can be transmitted here as well.” Said Eusebio. Could use of SL increase mental issues? Eusebio commented that anything can be used for good or ill, it all depends on the quantity and quality(perverts). Relationships can be lost in real life as well as in SL, and the hurt is just as real and painful in either environmentl. In other words you can be hurt in real life as well as in a virtual one, but you can also get healed in the same way. I my self am going to do a test or two and therefore see what is it all about and get a taste of the "you can get mentally healed in a virtual world."