###### Abstract
Moreover, VR-based therapy can be conducted remotely, thus integrating into our therapies the extremely important factor of accessibility. This combination of immersion, engagement, and personalization makes VR an essential tool in modern therapy, offering hope and improved outcomes for individuals dealing with anxiety, panic attacks, and chronic pain. Virtual reality (VR) can prove successful for pain management as well. Neurosurgical studies using virtual reality [24] show its potential in reducing anxiety and depression and improving pain management for patients suffering from chronic back pain. The Harvard MedTech Vx Pain Relief Program was used for 3 months as an at-home treatment, including various virtual reality environments with different goals: educational (courses explaining the patient's condition), guided meditation, immersive distractions, or experiential entertainment (e.g., interactive paragliding). The results show that, on average, pain was reduced by 33% and anxiety by 46%. VR can thus provide a great alternative for pain management, avoiding opioid use, and allowing for at-home treatment, better accessibility, and the same, if not better, efficiency. Pain management is studied intensively by the University of Pittsburgh, and their system, Painimation, uses various types of abstract animations to represent pain [25]. It comes as an alternative to unidimensional pain assessment scales, allowing for qualitative and quantitative representations of pain through varied characteristics of animations (e.g., speed, visuals, colors). The project was developed using a human-centered design process meant to solve the pain communication issue--the incapacity of patients to express and visualize their pain correctly when interacting with the clinician and going through therapy. Such an approach combined with virtual reality would create a comprehensive, flexible system of pain management, suitable for chronic pain. Serious games can prove to be a valuable addition to the rehabilitation process, in both VR and non-VR settings. Mechanics such as tasks, progress tracking, score, levels of difficulty, multiplayer options, powerups, hints, feedback, and precision evaluation are just some of the gamification aspects that can help the rehabilitation, especially in influencing the motivation and emotional involvement of the participants. Various studies include competition for neurorehabilitation, in games such as Pong arcade or sports (boxing, paddling, tennis), and show that the desire to become better than the other participants can lead to better performance of the rehabilitation tasks and higher motivation and enjoyment, especially when performed in a telemedicine program [26]. On the other hand, collaboration might be the more suitable approach for people requiring rehabilitation, with motivation being increased by the desire to be better together, socialize, and accomplish peers' ex pectations [27]. The immense opportunities of serious games in rehabilitation also come from their diversity, including different genres (action, adventure, simulations, puzzle), and different purposes (sports, fantasy/pure entertainment, reproducing daily activities). Our paper presents the potential offered by VR-based training tools and serious games for physical and psychological rehabilitation, validated in a clinical study with 25 patients. Our extensive and exploratory research proposes an integrative and innovative treatment procedure, not only by modeling classical rehabilitation procedures in the VR dimension but also by designing a clinical approach that alternates physical exercises with specific and focused anxiety reduction sequences. All the motor or psychological exercises we have designed for this protocol intervention are built around the purpose of increasing the perceived sense of control the patient is experiencing during the process of rehabilitation.