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Call for papersPsychology and mental health

Call for Papers: Virtual Reality for Mental Health: Behavioral Interventions, Therapy Protocols and Affective Regulation (Frontiers)

Frontiers is hosting a Research Topic on virtual reality-based behavioural interventions, therapy protocols and affective regulation for mental health. This guide sets out topic areas consistent with that scope, fit checks, contribution types editors tend to value and practical steps for submitting before the 25 January 2027 deadline.

Pubrica InsightsEditorial team, reviewed by a subject specialist
Deadline
25 January 2027
Last checked
10 November 2026
Reading time
5 min
Sources
1
Submit through the official call

Key dates

Manuscript deadline
25 January 2027
Details last checked
10 November 2026
Open the official call

About the journal

Journal
Frontiers
Publisher
Frontiers
Call type
Call for papers
Scope
Research Topic on virtual reality-based behavioural interventions, therapy protocols and affective regulation for mental health.
Guest editors
Listed on the official collection page
Access and fees
Open access; an article processing charge normally applies on acceptance
Originality
Original work, not under review elsewhere; confirm on the official page

Topics consistent with the call

  • Virtual reality exposure therapy for anxiety disorders, phobias and post-traumatic stress
  • Development and standardisation of VR therapy protocols for clinical use
  • VR-based training in emotion and affective regulation
  • Behavioural interventions delivered in VR for addiction, psychosis or eating disorders
  • Physiological and neural measures of emotional response in virtual environments
  • Acceptability, safety and implementation of VR in mental health services

Based on the published scope; the full list of themes is on the official call page.

Is your work a fit? Check before you write

  1. Address virtual reality interventions, protocols or affective regulation in a mental health context.
  2. Describe the VR system, content, dosage and comparator in enough detail to allow replication.
  3. Report adverse effects such as cybersickness and use an appropriate reporting guideline.
  4. Confirm the host journal, accepted article types and article processing charges on the official call page.
  5. Submit a complete, co-author-approved manuscript before 25 January 2027.

Why This Call Is a Priority Now

Virtual reality allows clinicians to create controlled, immersive situations for therapy and to measure emotional responses in ways that are difficult in conventional settings. Evidence is growing, but protocols vary widely and implementation in routine care remains limited. A Research Topic focused on interventions, protocols and affective regulation helps consolidate this work and gives authors an open access venue to reach clinicians and researchers interested in immersive mental health care.

Who Should Submit

Academic backgrounds

  • Clinical psychology
  • Psychiatry
  • Cognitive and affective neuroscience
  • Human-computer interaction
  • Digital mental health

Institutions and sectors

  • Universities and psychology departments
  • Mental health services and clinics
  • VR and digital therapeutics companies
  • Research hospitals

Article types commonly published in Frontiers

  • See the journal’s article types

What the Editors Typically Value

  1. Randomised trials comparing VR interventions with established treatments.
  2. Detailed, replicable therapy protocols that support standardisation across settings.
  3. Studies using physiological or neural measures to understand affective regulation in VR.
  4. Implementation research on adopting VR therapy in routine mental health services.

Paper Ideas You Could Develop

VR exposure for social anxietyA randomised trial comparing virtual reality exposure with in vivo exposure for social anxiety, including follow-up outcomes.
Emotion regulation training in VRA study testing a VR-based emotion regulation training programme with heart rate variability as a physiological outcome.
Clinician adoption of VR therapyA qualitative study of the barriers and facilitators clinicians report when introducing VR therapy into outpatient services.

Your Plan to the Deadline

A suggested schedule working back from 25 January 2027. Adjust it to the stage your work has reached.

  1. By 11 Dec 2026

    Open the official collection page and the Frontiers submission guidelines; confirm the scope, article types and guest editors.

  2. By 25 Dec 2026

    Write a one-paragraph statement of your research question, design and the contribution your paper makes to the collection.

  3. By 4 Jan 2027

    Complete the analysis and agree the key findings, figures and tables with your co-authors.

  4. By 15 Jan 2027

    Draft the full manuscript to the Frontiers article type and the relevant reporting guideline.

  5. By 20 Jan 2027

    Circulate the draft to co-authors and an independent reader; revise for clarity, accuracy and completeness.

  6. By 23 Jan 2027

    Complete final checks: formatting, references, declarations, data availability statement and cover letter.

  7. By 25 Jan 2027

    Submit through the journal’s online system, selecting the collection, after re-checking the official call page.

What you gain from publishing here

  • Publication in Frontiers, reaching readers working on this topic.
  • A themed collection that groups your paper with related work.
  • Editorial and peer feedback that can strengthen the work, whatever the decision.
  • A peer-reviewed output for your CV, thesis or grant reporting.

What happens after you submit

  1. Submission: upload through the Frontiers online system and select the collection.
  2. Editorial screening: the editors check fit with the collection; papers outside its scope may be returned without review.
  3. Peer review: suitable papers are sent to reviewers under the journal’s review model.
  4. Revision and decision: respond to each reviewer comment and keep a record of the changes.
  5. Production: accepted papers move to proofs and open access publication, with the article processing charge set out by the publisher.

What the Collection Is Looking For

The Research Topic seeks research on virtual reality-based behavioural interventions, therapy protocols and affective regulation for mental health. It is likely to welcome clinical trials, protocol development, experimental studies of emotional processes and implementation research, provided the methods are transparent and the clinical relevance is clear. Authors should confirm the host journal, accepted article types and article processing charges on the official call page.

Read the call itselfThis guide summarises the call. Open the official collection page before you plan a submission, and record the date you checked it and the guest editors listed.Open the official call

Expert help

How Pubrica Can Help With This Submission

Pubrica’s subject specialists can review, write, edit, format and prepare your manuscript for this call, planned back from the deadline. You remain the author of your work.

Pre-submission peer reviewAn expert review of the manuscript against the call and the journal’s requirements. Manuscript editingSubject-specialist editing for clarity, accuracy and consistency. Journal formattingFormatting of the manuscript, references, figures and tables to the journal’s guidelines. BiostatisticsStatistical analysis and review of results. Cover letterA cover letter that explains how the manuscript fits the call. Journal submissionPreparation of submission files and completion of the online submission.
Go to the official call

FAQs

Questions Authors Ask

The published deadline is 25 January 2027. Collections can close early or be extended, so confirm the date on the official call page before you plan your submission.

The guest editors are listed on the official collection page. Check their research interests, as they help to judge whether your manuscript fits the collection.

Some Frontiers Research Topics accept study protocols, but this varies by journal and topic. Authors should check the official call page for the list of accepted article types before preparing a protocol submission.

Access model: Open access. Check the journal’s fees page for any article processing charge before you submit.

Sources

  1. Frontiers. (2026). Virtual Reality for Mental Health: Behavioral Interventions, Therapy Protocols and Affective Regulation [Collection call for papers]. Frontiers. Retrieved 10 November 2026, from https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81236/virtual-reality-for-mental-health-behavioral-interventions-therapy-protocols-and-affective-regulation

How to cite this page

Pubrica Insights. (2026). Call for Papers: Virtual Reality for Mental Health: Behavioral Interventions, Therapy Protocols and Affective Regulation (Frontiers). Pubrica. https://pubrica.com/insights/calls-and-conferences/virtual-reality-for-mental-health-behavioral-interventions-therapy-pro/

  • Virtual reality
  • Mental health
  • Exposure therapy
  • Emotion regulation
  • Digital therapeutics

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Virtual Reality for Mental Health: Behavioral Interventions, Therapy Protocols and Affective Regulation (Frontiers)Deadline 25 January 2027

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