# A Test Platform for Managing School Stress Using a Virtual Reality Group Chatbot Counseling System
## 1 Introduction  
According to statistics from Taiwan's Suicide Prevention Center [1], more than 6000 young people aged 15 to 24 in Taiwan attempt suicide each year, and the number of suicide attempts has continued to increase, especially if there is no intervention. In 2020, the number of suicide deaths on university campuses reached the highest level in the last ten years. The psychological distress of college students comes from academic pressure, interpersonal relationships, individual personality traits, career plan ambiguity, family relationships, and so on. Among the reported factors, academic performance is the most important source of stress, followed by interpersonal relationships and individual personality traits [2]. Beginning in the year 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the ordinary life patterns of everyone in society. According to surveys [3], more than one-fifth of peopleare dissatisfied with the changes in their lives caused by the pandemic. People selected their top five emotional states as calm (44%), worried (38%), anxious (23%), nervous (22%), and panicked (9%), four of which are negative emotions which can lead to long-term symptoms of hopelessness, depression, and anxiety. Failure to treat these ongoing symptoms increases the risk of suicide attempts. Most universities lack sufficient numbers of counseling psychologists, cannot satisfy the number of student appointments, and are unable to recommend students to seek treatment off campus at medical centers if the symptoms are severe. Several companies have launched online consultation services to assist in managing remedial cases and less severe psychological symptoms. At present, the relatively large-scale startups include Woebot, Wysa, X2 and Youper. All of these systems use artificial intelligence for training neural networks with background knowledge related to mental health problems. The above consultation services are chatbots that understand human conversation and provide remote one-on-one private consultation services for less severe mental health symptoms. The consultation services are limited to spoken words and text and lack the critical function of interacting with a person or other people. This aspect is particularly important if the symptoms are severe and require immediate on-site psychological counseling at a medical facility. Virtual Reality (VR) technology has developed rapidly, and many studies have included VR in psychotherapy research. VR helmets provide advanced visual simulation effects that are not used with traditional treatment methods. VR can be tailored to match individual patients' needs by adjusting system settings to create targeted and realistic stimuli. Existing research on the application of VR to the medical field has focused on systemic desensitization, pain relief, and rehabilitation methods. VR technology makes health care more efficient and provides increased access to treatment for more people. This research develops a test base consultation system that combines psychological knowledge with VR technology. A test base system means the design has not undergone medical clinical trials, but is the first step toward delivering a certified and approved system. The initial design is for students in non-life-threatening situations in need for psychological aid and consultation. The system can interact with students in a virtual environment using avatars. An avatar chatbot acts as a psychological counselor to lead group consultations. The chatbot can also identify responses that indicate life-threatening responses and notify clinical psychologists for immediate intervention. The initial research does not fully test the reliability and validity of the design and implementation of the system using clinical trials. Future research is scheduled to improve the system and the knowledge base of the chatbot so that different group therapy sessions may be tested and evaluated.