Extended reality-based psychological counseling method and computing device for performing same

Abstract

An extended reality-based psychological counseling method and a computing device for performing same are disclosed. The psychological counseling method according to one disclosed embodiment is performed by a computing device comprising one or more processors and a memory for storing one or more programs executed by the one or more processors, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a psychological counseling request including a photo of a user and life history information of the user; acquiring psychological state-related information about the emotions or psychological state of the user; determining a psychological counseling mode for the user on the basis of the life history information and / or the psychological state-related information of the user; and providing an extended reality space to the user and / or a counselor according to the determined psychological counseling mode.

Description

A psychological counseling method based on extended reality and a computing device for performing the same

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to an extended reality-based psychological counseling technique.

[0002] Nowadays, modern people are under a lot of mental stress due to comparisons and competition with others, which can lead to various psychological problems such as depression and anxiety disorders. However, most people find it difficult or unwilling to discuss their issues face-to-face with a counselor, which hinders the effective implementation of psychological counseling. Therefore, there is a need for a method that allows psychological healing without face-to-face interaction with a counselor.

[0003] An embodiment of the present invention provides an extended reality-based psychological counseling method and a computing device for performing the same.

[0004] A psychological counseling method according to one embodiment disclosed is a method performed in a computing device having one or more processors and a memory storing one or more programs executed by the one or more processors, the method comprising: receiving a psychological counseling request including a user's photograph and the user's life history information; obtaining psychological state-related information about the user's emotion or psychological state; determining a psychological counseling mode for the user based on at least one of the user's life history information and the psychological state-related information; and providing an extended reality space to at least one of the user and the counselor according to the determined psychological counseling mode.

[0005] The above life history information may include one or more of the following: a history of the user's financial situation, a history of the user's educational background, a history of memorable events the user has experienced, a history of the user's romantic relationships, a history of the user's family history, and a history of the user's physical changes.

[0006] The step of determining the above psychological counseling mode may determine to proceed with one or more of the first psychological counseling mode to the fourth psychological counseling mode based on one or more of the user's life history information and the psychological state-related information.

[0007] The first psychological counseling mode is a psychological counseling mode in which a user converses with a user who appears in the past, the second psychological counseling mode is a psychological counseling mode in which a user converses with a user who appears in the future, the third psychological counseling mode is a psychological counseling mode in which a user converses with at least one of a user with low self-esteem and a user with high self-esteem, and the fourth psychological counseling mode may be a psychological counseling mode in which a user converses with another person who is the object of the user's grief or conflict.

[0008] The above psychological counseling method may further include a step of determining the order of progress among the plurality of psychological counseling modes based on at least one of the user's life history information and the psychological state-related information, if it is determined in the step of determining the psychological counseling mode to proceed with a plurality of psychological counseling modes.

[0009] The above psychological counseling method may further include a step of creating a user avatar or another person's avatar depending on the type of psychological counseling mode determined above.

[0010] The step of generating the user avatar may generate different types of user avatars depending on the type of psychological counseling mode based on at least one of the user's photo and the user's life history information.

[0011] The step of generating the user avatar may include, when the psychological counseling mode is a first psychological counseling mode, generating a first type of user avatar reflecting the user's past appearance, when the psychological counseling mode is a second psychological counseling mode, generating a second type of user avatar reflecting the user's future appearance, when the psychological counseling mode is a third psychological counseling mode, generating at least one of a third type of user avatar having low self-esteem and a fourth type of user avatar having high self-esteem, and, when the psychological counseling mode is a fourth psychological counseling mode, generating an avatar of another person representing another person who is an object of the user's grief or conflict.

[0012] The step of providing the extended reality space may display the user avatar or the other person's avatar in the extended reality space and allow the user avatar or the other person's avatar to conduct a conversation with the user in the extended reality space.

[0013] The step of providing the above-mentioned extended reality space may include a step of having the counselor answer the user's inquiry or speak the inquiry to the user through the user avatar or the other person's avatar.

[0014] The step of providing the extended reality space may include the step of obtaining information related to the user's psychological state during the user's consultation through the extended reality space; and the step of controlling one or more of the facial expressions and speech patterns of the user avatar or another person's avatar in the extended reality space based on the information related to the user's psychological state.

[0015] The above psychological counseling method may further include a step of determining a progression order among the plurality of psychological counseling modes based on at least one of the user's life history information and the psychological state-related information when it is determined in the step of determining the psychological counseling mode to proceed with a plurality of psychological counseling modes, and the step of providing the extended reality space may include a step of obtaining the user's psychological state-related information while the user's counseling is in progress through the extended reality space; and a step of terminating the psychological counseling mode in which the counseling is in progress or changing the progression order of the psychological counseling modes based on the user's psychological state-related information.

[0016] According to another embodiment disclosed, a psychological counseling method is performed in a computing device having one or more processors and a memory storing one or more programs executed by the one or more processors, the method comprising: receiving a psychological counseling request including a user's photograph and the user's life history information; generating a user avatar based on one or more of the user's photograph and the life history information; and providing an extended reality space in which the user avatar is displayed to one or more of the user and the counselor.

[0017] The step of generating the user avatar may include a step of generating different types of user avatars based on at least one of the user's photo and the life history information.

[0018] The step of generating the above user avatar may generate at least one of a first type of user avatar reflecting the user's past appearance, a second type of user avatar reflecting the user's future appearance, a third type of user avatar reflecting the user's appearance with low self-esteem, and a fourth type of user avatar reflecting the user's appearance with high self-esteem.

[0019] The step of providing the extended reality space may include the step of obtaining information related to the user's psychological state during the user's consultation through the extended reality space; and the step of controlling one or more of the facial expressions and speech patterns of the user avatar in the extended reality space based on the information related to the user's psychological state.

[0020] The step of providing the above-mentioned extended reality space may include a step of having the counselor answer the user's inquiry or speak a question to the user through the user avatar.

[0021] According to one embodiment of the invention, a computing device comprises one or more processors; a memory; and one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, wherein the one or more programs include: a command for receiving a psychological counseling request including a photograph of a user and life history information of the user; a command for obtaining psychological state-related information about an emotion or psychological state of the user; a command for determining a psychological counseling mode for the user based on at least one of the life history information of the user and the psychological state-related information; and a command for providing an extended reality space to at least one of the user and the counselor according to the determined psychological counseling mode.

[0022] According to another embodiment disclosed, a computing device comprises one or more processors; a memory; and one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, wherein the one or more programs include: a command for receiving a psychological counseling application including a user's photograph and the user's life history information; a command for generating a user avatar based on at least one of the user's photograph and the life history information; and a command for providing an extended reality space in which the user avatar is displayed to at least one of the user and the counselor.

[0023] According to the disclosed embodiment, by allowing a user to converse with different types of user avatars or other avatars in an extended reality space, the user can comfort himself or express his feelings without having to meet a counselor face-to-face, thereby enabling self-healing through psychological counseling.

[0024] Figure 1 is a drawing showing an extended reality-based psychological counseling system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a psychological counseling server according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a process of creating a first type of user avatar using a user's photo in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a third type of user avatar and a fourth type of user avatar in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing a psychological counseling method according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a computing environment including a computing device suitable for use in exemplary embodiments.

[0030] Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The following detailed description is provided to facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the methods, devices, and / or systems described herein. However, these are merely examples and the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0031] In describing embodiments of the present invention, if a detailed description of a known technology related to the present invention is judged to unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted. In addition, the terms described below are terms defined in consideration of their functions in the present invention, and this may vary depending on the intention or custom of the user or operator. Therefore, the definitions should be made based on the contents throughout this specification. The terminology used in the detailed description is only for the purpose of describing embodiments of the present invention and should not be limited in any way. Unless clearly used otherwise, the singular form includes the plural form. In this description, expressions such as "comprises" or "having" are intended to indicate certain features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, parts or combinations thereof, and should not be construed to exclude the presence or possibility of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, parts or combinations thereof other than those described.

[0032] In the following description, the terms "transmission," "communication," "sending," "receiving," and other similar terms for signals or information include not only the direct transmission of signals or information from one component to another, but also transmission via another component. In particular, "transmitting" or "sending" a signal or information to one component indicates the final destination of the signal or information, and does not mean the direct destination. The same applies to "receiving" a signal or information. In addition, in this specification, the "relationship" of two or more pieces of data or information means that when one piece of data (or information) is acquired, at least a portion of the other piece of data (or information) can be acquired based on it.

[0033] Meanwhile, directional terms such as upper, lower, one side, and the other side are used in reference to the orientation of the disclosed drawings. Since components of embodiments of the present invention can be positioned in various orientations, directional terms are used for illustrative purposes and are not intended to be limiting.

[0034] Additionally, while terms such as "first" and "second" may be used to describe various components, these components should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be used to distinguish one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, a first component may be referred to as a "second component," and similarly, a second component may also be referred to as a "first component."

[0035] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an extended reality-based psychological counseling system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] Referring to FIG. 1, a psychological counseling system (100) may include a user terminal (102), a counselor terminal (104), and a psychological counseling server (106). The user terminal (102) and the counselor terminal (104) may be communicatively connected to the psychological counseling server (106) via a communication network (150).

[0037] Here, the communication network (150) may include the Internet, one or more local area networks, wide area networks, a cellular network, a mobile network, other types of networks, or a combination of these networks.

[0038] In the disclosed embodiments, "extended reality" may refer to an environment comprising a computer-generated virtual space, such as virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, and holograms. In this case, the virtual space may consist solely of virtually generated objects and backgrounds separate from the actual real space, or may include objects or backgrounds from the actual real world. Hereinafter, such a virtual space of extended reality may be referred to as an "extended reality space."

[0039] The user terminal (102) is a terminal of a user (i.e., a counselee) receiving psychological counseling using augmented reality. In one embodiment, the user terminal (102) may be a head-mounted display (HMD) or smart glasses that the user can wear on his or her head, but is not limited thereto. Various types of devices capable of displaying augmented reality space to the user may be used.

[0040] A user terminal (102) may transmit a psychological counseling request to a psychological counseling server (106). The psychological counseling request may include the user's photo and information about the user's life history. For example, the user's photo may be an ID photo, but is not limited thereto.

[0041] The user's life history information is information related to the user's life, and may include a history of the user's financial situation (e.g., poverty or wealth), a history of the user's education, a history of memorable events the user has experienced (e.g., school violence, surgical experiences, etc.), a history of the user's romantic relationships, a history of the user's family history, and a history of the user's physical changes (e.g., weight gain or loss, etc.).

[0042] The counselor terminal (104) is a counselor terminal that provides psychological counseling to users who have requested psychological counseling. The counselor terminal (104) may be a head-mounted display (HMD) or smart glasses that the user can wear on their head, but is not limited thereto. Various types of devices capable of displaying an extended reality space to the counselor may be used.

[0043] Each counselor can register as a counselor for the extended reality-based psychological counseling service provided by the psychological counseling server (106) through the counselor terminal (104). At this time, the counselor terminal (104) can transmit a counselor registration application including the counselor's career information and photo to the psychological counseling server (106).

[0044] The psychological counseling server (106) may be a server computing device that provides an augmented reality-based psychological counseling service. The psychological counseling server (106) may provide an augmented reality space for psychological counseling to a user terminal (102) upon request for psychological counseling from the user terminal (102). Furthermore, the psychological counseling server (106) may provide the augmented reality space to the counselor terminal (104).

[0045] At this time, the counselor who receives the extended reality space may be selected from among the registered counselors by the user's input, or may be selected by the psychological counseling server (106). When the psychological counseling server (106) selects the counselor, the psychological counseling server (106) may select a counselor suitable for the user's psychological counseling based on the user's life history information included in the psychological counseling application and each counselor's career information. A detailed description of the configuration and operation of the psychological counseling server (106) will be provided later.

[0046] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a psychological counseling server (106) according to one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Figure 2, the psychological counseling server (106) may include a psychological state measurement module (111), a counseling mode determination module (113), an avatar creation module (115), and a counseling progress module (117).

[0047] When a psychological counseling request is received from a user terminal (102), the psychological state measurement module (111) can obtain information related to the psychological state of the user. The information related to the psychological state of the user may include information about the user's emotions or psychological state. In one embodiment, the psychological state measurement module (111) can obtain information related to the user's psychological state from the user terminal (102) or a separate psychological state measurement device (not shown). For example, the user's emotions or psychological state may be obtained through a questionnaire on the user, or may be obtained by measuring the user's biosignals (e.g., brain waves, pulse, heart rate, body temperature, oxygen saturation, skin conductance, etc.).

[0048] The counseling mode determination module (113) can determine a psychological counseling mode for a user based on at least one of the user's life history information and psychological state-related information. That is, the counseling mode determination module (113) can determine which psychological counseling modes to proceed with for a user based on at least one of the user's life history information and psychological state-related information.

[0049] Additionally, the counseling mode determination module (113) may determine the order of progression among psychological counseling modes based on one or more of the user's life history information and psychological state-related information. For example, if it is determined that multiple psychological counseling modes will be performed for the user, the counseling mode determination module (113) may also determine the order of progression among the psychological counseling modes based on one or more of the user's life history information and psychological state-related information.

[0050] Here, the psychological counseling mode is implemented in an extended reality space and is a mode for psychological counseling of the user, and may include a first psychological counseling mode, a second psychological counseling mode, a third psychological counseling mode, and a fourth psychological counseling mode.

[0051] In one embodiment, the first psychological counseling mode may be a psychological counseling mode in which the user engages in conversation with a past version of the user. The second psychological counseling mode may be a psychological counseling mode in which the user engages in conversation with a future version of the user. The third psychological counseling mode may be a psychological counseling mode in which the user engages in conversation with at least one of a low self-esteem user and a high self-esteem user. The fourth psychological counseling mode may be a psychological counseling mode in which the user engages in conversation with another person who is the subject of the user's grief or conflict.

[0052] The counseling mode determination module (113) determines to proceed with at least one of the first to fourth psychological counseling modes based on at least one of the user's life history information and psychological state-related information, and can determine the order of proceeding of the determined psychological counseling modes.

[0053] The avatar creation module (115) can create one or more user avatars based on the user's photo and life history information included in the psychological counseling application. The avatar creation module (115) can create a user avatar or another person's avatar to be used in the psychological counseling mode determined by the counseling mode determination module (113). At this time, the avatar creation module (115) can determine whether to create a user avatar or another person's avatar depending on the type of psychological counseling mode (i.e., depending on which psychological counseling mode it is).

[0054] Specifically, if the psychological counseling mode determined by the counseling mode determination module (113) is at least one of the first psychological counseling mode to the third psychological counseling mode, the avatar creation module (115) may determine to create a user avatar. If the psychological counseling mode determined by the counseling mode determination module (113) is the fourth psychological counseling mode, the avatar creation module (115) may determine to create another person's avatar.

[0055] When creating a user avatar, the avatar creation module (115) can create different types of user avatars depending on the type of psychological counseling mode. If the psychological counseling mode is the first psychological counseling mode, the avatar creation module (115) can create a first type of user avatar based on the user's photo and life history information. The first type of user avatar may be an avatar that reflects the user's past appearance.

[0056] When the psychological counseling mode is the second psychological counseling mode, the avatar generation module (115) can generate a second type of user avatar based on the user's photo and life history information. The second type of user avatar may be an avatar that reflects the user's future appearance. Here, the first type of user avatar or the second type of user avatar is generated by reflecting the user's life history information based on the user's photo, and may be generated using an image aging technique and an image modeling technique, etc. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a process of generating a first type of user avatar (an avatar reflecting the user's past appearance) using the user's photo in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0057] When the psychological counseling mode is the third psychological counseling mode, the avatar generation module (115) can generate a third type of user avatar and a fourth type of user avatar based on the user's photo and life history information. The third type of user avatar and the fourth type of user avatar may be avatars representing different split egos of the user. The third type of user avatar and the fourth type of user avatar may be avatars representing users with different facial expressions, confidence levels, and health conditions, respectively.

[0058] A third type of user avatar may be a user avatar with low self-esteem. For example, a third type of user avatar may be a user avatar with the appearance of a servant. A fourth type of user avatar may be a user avatar with high self-esteem. For example, a fourth type of user avatar may be a user avatar with the appearance of a superior. Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating a third type of user avatar and a fourth type of user avatar according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0059] When the psychological counseling mode is the fourth psychological counseling mode, the avatar generation module (115) can generate an avatar representing another person who is the object of the user's grief or conflict. At this time, the avatar generation module (115) can generate an avatar of another person by receiving a photo of the other person or text describing the other person from the user terminal (102).

[0060] In one embodiment, the avatar generation module (115) may generate a user avatar or another person's avatar based on deep learning technology. The avatar generation module (115) may include a first deep learning model. In one embodiment, the avatar generation module (115) may input a user's photo, the user's life history information, and the type of psychological counseling mode into the first deep learning model to generate a user avatar of a type corresponding to the type of psychological counseling mode.

[0061] The counseling progress module (117) may provide an extended reality space for conducting psychological counseling to one or more of the user terminal (102) and the counselor terminal (104). The counseling progress module (117) may provide an extended reality space to one or more of the user terminal (102) and the counselor terminal (104) according to the determined psychological counseling mode and the progress order between the psychological counseling modes.

[0062] In one embodiment, when the psychological counseling mode is the first psychological counseling mode, the counseling progress module (117) may display a first type of user avatar in the extended reality space and allow the user to engage in a conversation with the first type of user avatar in the extended reality space. In addition, when the psychological counseling mode is the second psychological counseling mode, the counseling progress module (117) may display a second type of user avatar in the extended reality space and allow the user to engage in a conversation with the second type of user avatar in the extended reality space.

[0063] When the psychological counseling mode is the third psychological counseling mode, the counseling progress module (117) can display at least one of the third type user avatar and the fourth type user avatar in the extended reality space and allow the user to have a mutual conversation with at least one of the third type user avatar and the fourth type user avatar in the extended reality space. When the psychological counseling mode is the fourth psychological counseling mode, the counseling progress module (117) can display another person's avatar in the extended reality space and allow the user to have a mutual conversation with the other person's avatar in the extended reality space. At this time, if the other person's avatar is an object of mourning, it can provide an opportunity to say goodbye to family or acquaintances who were unable to have a chance to mourn due to sudden death. In addition, if the other person's avatar is an object of conflict, it can purify the user's emotions by having an indirect conversation with the object of the conflict.

[0064] The consultation progress module (117) can enable each type of user avatar or another person's avatar to conduct a conversation with the user while looking at the user while sitting on a chair.

[0065] Meanwhile, the consultation progress module (117) can enable each type of user avatar or other avatar to answer the user's inquiry or ask the user a question. To this end, the consultation progress module (117) may include a second deep learning model. The second deep learning model may be a model trained to respond to the user's inquiry and output an appropriate answer or ask the user a question. In other words, the second deep learning model may be a model trained to enable chatting with the user.

[0066] However, it is not limited thereto, and the counseling progress module (117) can receive a response to a user's inquiry or a question about the user from the counselor terminal (104), and speak the received response or question through each type of user avatar or another person's avatar. In this case, the counselor can perform a role play by assuming the role of the user avatar or another person's avatar in the extended reality space. The counselor can remotely control the user avatar or another person's avatar in the extended reality space through the counselor terminal (104) to conduct a conversation with the user.

[0067] Meanwhile, the psychological state measurement module (111) can acquire information related to the user's psychological state (i.e., information about the user's emotions or psychological state) during the user's consultation using the extended reality space. Furthermore, the consultation progress module (117) can control one or more of the user's avatar's facial expressions and speech patterns or those of another user's avatar in the extended reality space based on the information related to the user's psychological state during the user's consultation.

[0068] The counseling module (117) can check the user's emotional or psychological state through information related to the user's psychological state, and control the user's avatar or another avatar (e.g., another avatar who is the object of the user's grief) in the extended reality space to make facial expressions and speech to comfort or sympathize with the user based on the user's emotional or psychological state. In addition, the counseling module (117) can control another avatar (e.g., another avatar who is the object of the conflict) in the extended reality space to make facial expressions and speech to ask for forgiveness from the user based on the user's emotional or psychological state.

[0069] The counseling module (117) can terminate the ongoing psychological counseling mode based on information related to the user's psychological state. For example, if the user's emotional or psychological state exceeds a preset threshold, the counseling module (117) can terminate the ongoing psychological counseling mode. Furthermore, the counseling module (117) can change the order of progress between psychological counseling modes based on information related to the user's psychological state.

[0070] According to the disclosed embodiment, by allowing a user to converse with different types of user avatars or other avatars in an extended reality space, the user can comfort himself or express his feelings without having to meet a counselor face-to-face, thereby enabling self-healing through psychological counseling.

[0071] As used herein, the term "module" may refer to a functional and structural combination of hardware for implementing the technical concepts of the present invention and software for operating the hardware. For example, the term "module" may refer to a logical unit of a given code and hardware resources for executing the given code, and does not necessarily refer to physically connected code or a single type of hardware.

[0072] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating a psychological counseling method according to one embodiment of the present invention. While the illustrated flowchart depicts the method as divided into multiple steps, at least some of the steps may be performed in a different order, combined with other steps and performed together, omitted, divided into substeps, or performed with one or more additional steps not depicted.

[0073] Referring to FIG. 5, the psychological counseling server (106) can receive a psychological counseling request including the user's photo and the user's life history information from the user terminal (102) (S 101).

[0074] Next, the psychological counseling server (106) can obtain information related to the user's psychological state (S 103). Next, the psychological counseling server (106) can determine a psychological counseling mode for the user based on at least one of the user's life history information and psychological state information (S 105).

[0075] Next, the psychological counseling server (106) can generate a user avatar or another person's avatar according to the psychological counseling mode based on the user's photo and the user's life history information (S 107). Next, the psychological counseling server (106) can provide an extended reality space displaying the user avatar or another person's avatar to the user terminal (102) to conduct psychological counseling (S 109).

[0076] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a computing environment (10) including a computing device suitable for use in exemplary embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, each component may have different functions and capabilities other than those described below, and may include additional components other than those described below.

[0077] The illustrated computing environment (10) includes a computing device (12). In one embodiment, the computing device (12) may be a user terminal (102). In addition, the computing device (12) may be a counselor terminal (104). In addition, the computing device (12) may be a psychological counseling server (106).

[0078] A computing device (12) includes at least one processor (14), a computer-readable storage medium (16), and a communication bus (18). The processor (14) may cause the computing device (12) to operate according to the exemplary embodiments mentioned above. For example, the processor (14) may execute one or more programs stored in the computer-readable storage medium (16). The one or more programs may include one or more computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the processor (14), may be configured to cause the computing device (12) to perform operations according to the exemplary embodiments.

[0079] A computer-readable storage medium (16) is configured to store computer-executable instructions or program code, program data, and / or other suitable forms of information. A program (20) stored in the computer-readable storage medium (16) includes a set of instructions executable by the processor (14). In one embodiment, the computer-readable storage medium (16) may be a memory (volatile memory such as random access memory, non-volatile memory, or a suitable combination thereof), one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, any other form of storage medium that can be accessed by the computing device (12) and store desired information, or a suitable combination thereof.

[0080] A communication bus (18) interconnects various other components of the computing device (12), including the processor (14) and computer-readable storage media (16).

[0081] The computing device (12) may also include one or more input / output interfaces (22) that provide interfaces for one or more input / output devices (24) and one or more network communication interfaces (26). The input / output interfaces (22) and the network communication interfaces (26) are connected to the communication bus (18). The input / output devices (24) may be connected to other components of the computing device (12) via the input / output interfaces (22). Exemplary input / output devices (24) may include input devices such as pointing devices (such as a mouse or a trackpad), a keyboard, a touch input device (such as a touchpad or a touchscreen), a voice or sound input device, various types of sensor devices and / or photographing devices, and / or output devices such as display devices, printers, speakers and / or network cards. The exemplary input / output devices (24) may be included within the computing device (12) as a component constituting the computing device (12), or may be connected to the computing device (12) as a separate device distinct from the computing device (12).

[0082] While representative embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications to the above-described embodiments are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined not only by the claims set forth below but also by equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. One or more processors, and A method performed on a computing device having a memory storing one or more programs executed by one or more processors, A step of receiving a psychological counseling application including the user's photo and the user's life history information; A step of obtaining psychological state-related information about the user's emotional or psychological state; A step of determining a psychological counseling mode for the user based on at least one of the user's life history information and the psychological state-related information; and A psychological counseling method comprising the step of providing an extended reality space to at least one of a user and a counselor according to the psychological counseling mode determined above.

2. In claim 1, The above life history information is, A psychological counseling method comprising one or more of the following: a history of the user's financial situation, a history of the user's educational background, a history of memorable events the user has experienced, a history of the user's romantic relationships, a history of the user's family history, and a history of the user's physical changes.

3. In claim 1, The steps for determining the above psychological counseling mode are: A psychological counseling method, wherein it is determined to proceed with one or more of the first psychological counseling mode to the fourth psychological counseling mode based on one or more of the user's life history information and the psychological state-related information.

4. In claim 3, The first psychological counseling mode is a psychological counseling mode where users have conversations with users who appear in the past. The second psychological counseling mode is a psychological counseling mode where users have conversations with future users. The third psychological counseling mode is a psychological counseling mode in which users have conversations targeting at least one of the user appearances of low self-esteem and high self-esteem. The fourth psychological counseling mode is a psychological counseling method in which the user converses with another person who is the subject of his or her grief or conflict.

5. In claim 4, The above psychological counseling method is, A psychological counseling method, further comprising a step of determining the order of progress among the plurality of psychological counseling modes based on at least one of the user's life history information and the psychological state-related information, when it is determined in the step of determining the psychological counseling mode to proceed with a plurality of psychological counseling modes.

6. In claim 4, The above psychological counseling method is, A psychological counseling method further comprising a step of creating a user avatar or another person's avatar according to the type of psychological counseling mode determined above.

7. In claim 6, The steps for creating the above user avatar are: A psychological counseling method that creates different types of user avatars depending on the type of psychological counseling mode based on at least one of the user's photo and the user's life history information.

8. In claim 7, The steps for creating the above user avatar are: If the above psychological counseling mode is the first psychological counseling mode, a first type user avatar reflecting the user's past appearance is created, If the above psychological counseling mode is the second psychological counseling mode, a second type of user avatar reflecting the user's future appearance is created. If the above psychological counseling mode is the third psychological counseling mode, at least one of a third type of user avatar with low self-esteem and a fourth type of user avatar with high self-esteem is created. The steps for creating the above-mentioned avatar are: A psychological counseling method for generating an avatar representing another person who is the object of the user's grief or conflict, when the above psychological counseling mode is the fourth psychological counseling mode.

9. In claim 6, The step of providing the above extended reality space is: A psychological counseling method that displays the user avatar or the other person's avatar in the extended reality space and allows the user avatar or the other person's avatar to engage in interactive conversation with the user in the extended reality space.

10. In claim 9, The step of providing the above extended reality space is: A psychological counseling method, comprising a step of having the counselor respond to the user's inquiry or ask the user a question through the user's avatar or the other person's avatar.

11. In claim 9, The step of providing the above extended reality space is: A step of obtaining information related to the user's psychological state during the user's consultation through the extended reality space; and A psychological counseling method, comprising a step of controlling at least one of the facial expressions and speech patterns of a user avatar or another person's avatar in the extended reality space based on information related to the user's psychological state.

12. In claim 9, The above psychological counseling method is, In the step of determining the psychological counseling mode, if it is decided to proceed with multiple psychological counseling modes, the method further includes a step of determining the order of proceeding between the multiple psychological counseling modes based on at least one of the user's life history information and the psychological state-related information. The step of providing the above extended reality space is: A step of obtaining information related to the user's psychological state during the user's consultation through the extended reality space; and A psychological counseling method, comprising a step of terminating the psychological counseling mode in progress or changing the progress order of the psychological counseling mode based on information related to the psychological state of the user.

13. One or more processors, and A method performed on a computing device having a memory storing one or more programs executed by one or more processors, A step of receiving a psychological counseling application including the user's photo and the user's life history information; A step of generating a user avatar based on at least one of the user's photo and the life history information; and A psychological counseling method comprising the step of providing an extended reality space in which the user avatar is displayed to at least one of a user and a counselor.

14. In claim 13, The steps for creating the above user avatar are: A psychological counseling method comprising the step of generating different types of user avatars based on at least one of the user's photo and the life history information.

15. In claim 14, The steps for creating the above user avatar are: A psychological counseling method for creating at least one of a first type of user avatar reflecting the user's past appearance, a second type of user avatar reflecting the user's future appearance, a third type of user avatar reflecting the user's low self-esteem, and a fourth type of user avatar reflecting the user's high self-esteem.

16. In claim 15, The step of providing the above extended reality space is: A step of obtaining information related to the user's psychological state during the user's consultation through the extended reality space; and A psychological counseling method, comprising a step of controlling at least one of the facial expressions and speech patterns of a user avatar in the extended reality space based on information related to the psychological state of the user.

17. In claim 15, The step of providing the above extended reality space is: A psychological counseling method, comprising a step of having the counselor respond to the user's inquiry or speak to the user through the user avatar.

18. One or more processors; memory; and Contains one or more programs, The one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, One or more of the above programs, A command to receive a psychological counseling request including the user's photo and the user's life history information; A command to obtain psychological state-related information about the user's emotional or psychological state; A command for determining a psychological counseling mode for the user based on at least one of the user's life history information and the psychological state-related information; and A computing device comprising a command for providing an extended reality space to at least one of a user and a counselor according to the determined psychological counseling mode.

19. One or more processors; memory; and Contains one or more programs, The one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, One or more of the above programs, A command to receive a psychological counseling request including the user's photo and the user's life history information; A command to create a user avatar based on one or more of the user's photo and life history information; and A computing device comprising commands for providing an extended reality space in which the user avatar is displayed to at least one of a user and a counselor.

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