IPC4MH Kick-off Meeting in Nantes: Shaping the Future of Mental Health Prevention

A Dynamic Start to a European Collaboration

From 2 to 4 April 2025, the partners of the Immersive Prevention Centers for Mental Health (IPC4MH) project convened at Nantes Université to launch an ambitious European initiative that merges immersive technologies, artificial intelligence, and clinical science to transform mental health prevention.

Over three days, researchers, clinicians, and industry partners worked side by side to establish a shared vision: to make mental health care more accessible, personalized, and engaging through virtual and mixed-reality environments that support prevention, training, and therapeutic guidance.

Designing the Future of Immersive Prevention Centers

The meeting brought together experts from HES-SO Valais-Wallis, Nantes Université, CHU Nantes, C2Care, DiverSsiTy SA, and the Institute of Psychology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IPPAS).
Discussions focused on defining the project’s first milestones, including:

• A shared conceptual framework for immersive prevention centers (IPCs);
• The ethical and data governance roadmap;
• Technical planning for co-creation, implementation, and evaluation phases;

Beyond coordination, the event offered an opportunity for hands-on technical demonstrations and early testing of immersive content and collaborative XR interfaces — illustrating the tangible progress toward the project’s long-term goal: a validated, interoperable ecosystem for digital mental health prevention.

Building Bridges Across Disciplines and Borders

The kick-off highlighted IPC4MH’s unique transdisciplinary approach, combining expertise in computer science, psychology, clinical practice, and industrial innovation.
Partners also outlined early dissemination and communication strategies to ensure transparency and long-term societal impact.

“IPC4MH represents a decisive step toward accessible and personalized prevention in mental health through immersive technologies,”
emphasized Prof. Antoine Widmer, project coordinator at HES-SO Valais-Wallis.

Source: IPC4MH Consortium Meeting, Nantes Université, 2–4 April 2025