The original plan of the Proof of Concept project was to develop an Anger Reduction Tool (ART) for handheld devices that trains avoidance movements to angry persons. While exploring the market, however, it became apparent that therapists working with aggressive patients did not like working with an app. Howeverm the therapists were highly motivated to use Virtual Reality (VR) methods. The project team therefore decided to switch toward the development of an Aggressive Impulse Management (AIM) VR game that was based on the same psychological principle as ART (i.e. training avoidance movements to angry persons). The AIM game was developed over the course of 2017. The project team then proceeded to test the clinical effectiveness of the AIM game in a clinical trial among patients with aggression problems at a Dutch psychiatric institution. The implementation of the clinical trial was delayed because a prolonged period of obtaining ethical approval and problems with including patients. The trial is still ongoing and due to be completed during the Spring of 2019. We can already tell that patients like playing the game. However, it remains crucial to test if the AIM-Game is clinically effective. Once this scientific evidence is obtained, the AIM game can be brought to market. Our preliminary aim is to target the AIM game to penitentiary institutions and psychiatric hospitals, where it could be marketed as an engaging serious game that can help to build anger management skills in aggression-prone populations.
