New Zealand Digital HealthTech Start-Up ‘oVRcome’ Tackles Mental Health Treatment Gap Head-On with Instant, Clinically Proven VR Therapy Christchurch-based digital health start-up oVRcome is tackling rising mental health pressures and clinician shortages with a powerful, tech-driven solution: instant access to clinically proven, scalable treatment-delivered straight to a smartphone.
Using Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET), oVRcome enables users to begin evidence-based therapy immediately, from anywhere. Its clinically proven immersive programs help people face common fears-such as needles, public speaking, flying, spiders and more.
The product has been successfully used around the world and as part of pilot programmes with the U.K’s National Health Services (NHS). Whilst oVRcome’s efficacy as a standalone treatment has been proven, Founder Adam Hutchinson sees great potential in the product being a meaningful companion to clinician treatment. oVRcome reduces barriers to treatment, including cost, accessibility and waiting lists - allowing patients to begin treatment immediately. As rates of anxiety and depression continue to rise post-pandemic, New Zealand’s mental health and addiction workforce is under significant strain.
Psychologists and psychiatrists are in critically short supply. “One of the biggest strengths of oVRcome is its immediacy, particularly at a time when access is a real barrier to treatment,” says Hutchinson. “People can start meaningful, clinically backed treatment straight away - even while waiting to see a clinician in person. That kind of early access can make a real difference when the system is so stretched. It relieves pressure on clinicians while giving patients timely support.”
Built on proven principles of exposure therapy - oVRcome uses realistic virtual environments to simulate exposure scenarios in a safe, controlled, and accessible way. A University of Otago-led clinical trial found that oVRcome users experienced a 50% reduction in social anxiety symptoms in just six weeks, with continued improvement after the treatment period.
Hutchinson will travel to Melbourne, Australia in May for the Digital Health Festival, showcasing oVRcome alongside some of the country’s leading health-tech innovators. Says Hutchinson, “I’m proud to be representing New Zealand and sharing the potential for blending technology with human care to create positive, scalable outcomes”.
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Released on behalf of oVRcome by These Guys I Know, please contact Amanda Wilson - amanda@theseguysiknow.co.nz or via 0274339840 for more interviews, images and information.
