@article{FlechtnerDewitzMaueetal., author = {Flechtner, Rahel and Dewitz, Leyla and Mau{\´e}, Rahel and Tost, Jordi and Schuster, Paula L. and Ackermann, Judith and Heidmann, Frank}, title = {Facing fears, facing opportunities: Lessons learned from a participatory design format with people affected by social anxiety}, address = {Potsdam}, doi = {10.34678/opus4-3116}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:525-31168}, pages = {1 -- 19}, abstract = {Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is one of the most commonly diagnosed anxiety disorders and a health concern that has a significant impact on the affected individuals' quality of life. Although there is a need to develop methods and tools to support those affected by SAD, it is especially challenging to conduct participatory design with this psychologically vulnerable group of people. This paper presents the design, implementation and evaluation of a participatory format built on a toolkit, a cultural probe and an online prototyping workshop to gain insights into the challenges and needs experienced in the everyday lives of those affected by severe social anxiety. We provide the theoretical framework for designing a participatory format for this vulnerable group, introduce and discuss our methodological approach, and present the lessons learned from implementing and evaluating the format in two workshop sessions with a total of 15 participants.}, subject = {Angstst{\"o}rung}, language = {en} } @incollection{MaueFlechtner, author = {Mau{\´e}, Rahel and Flechtner, Rahel}, title = {"Hopohopo": a virtual reality awareness application about social anxiety disorder}, series = {Proceedings of Mensch und Computer 2022 : MuC'22}, booktitle = {Proceedings of Mensch und Computer 2022 : MuC'22}, publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery}, address = {New York}, isbn = {978-1-4503-9690-5}, doi = {10.1145/3543758.3547550}, publisher = {Fachhochschule Potsdam}, pages = {420 -- 424}, abstract = {Virtual Reality (VR) applications play an increasingly important role in the context of mental health. While VR-based therapeutic interventions are increasingly well-established, the application of VR in the field of mental health awareness represents a novel and promising development. We present our mental health awareness VR application "hopohopo", in which the user takes the perspective of a person suffering from social anxiety. Through the VR journey, the user experiences what it could feel like to suffer from constant fear of being negatively judged by others in everyday social situations. The aim of the application is to allow nonaffected users to expand their knowledge and to raise mental health awareness. In this paper, we report our findings on the potential of this immersive VR application for psychoeducation and destigmatization of social anxiety. In this respect, we provide the scope of our VR application and first results of its ongoing usability and usefulness evaluation process.}, subject = {Mensch-Maschine-Kommunikation}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{TostFlechtnerMaueetal., author = {Tost, Jordi and Flechtner, Rahel and Mau{\´e}, Rahel and Heidmann, Frank}, title = {Caring for a companion as a form of self-care}, series = {Live - Uniting HCI for a Hyperlocal and Global Experience : Proceedings of the 13th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction}, booktitle = {Live - Uniting HCI for a Hyperlocal and Global Experience : Proceedings of the 13th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction}, editor = {Uppsala University, and Ume{\aa} University,}, publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery}, address = {New York}, isbn = {979-8-4007-0966-1}, doi = {10.1145/3679318.3685343}, pages = {1 -- 15}, abstract = {This paper presents an approach to designing companion technologies for mental health based on a case study on social anxiety disorder (SAD). We highlight the potential of an irritating dimension of user experience and propose including irritating qualities in companions as a strategy to disrupt patterns of behavior and thought, support perspective change, and expand an individual's comfort zone. Taking the Tamagotchi as a counterpoint to assisting technologies and combining frameworks and concepts from psychology and HCI, we propose the grounding metaphor of 'caring for the companion as a form of self-care,' arguing the potential of building reciprocal care relationships as a means by which to support emotional attachment and establish healthy routines. In this paper, we introduce this grounding metaphor and a set of principles for fostering positive irritations. Our framework provides a basis for exploring and developing novel paradigms and poses future directions for HCI.}, subject = {Angstst{\"o}rung}, language = {en} }