Tend Virtual Reality Mindfulness Programme

NHS Talking Therapies Services in England, Scotland and Wales and with selected Mind and other partners.

Not at the moment, but we plan to launch in new areas going forward.

Not at the moment, but Tend will be launching a wellbeing programmed later in 2026.

Yes, but headsets are provided by our delivery partners

Yes, because the Tend VR-MBI programme is accompanied by a mobile app designed to help with skills home practice in your everyday environment between sessions. These practices are an important part of helping you get the most out of the course.

The app is available on the Google Play and Apple App Stores and are accessible on Android 13 or above; 4GB RAM and iPhone 11 or later running ios 16 or above; 3GB RAM

Tend is designed to support people experiencing anxiety and depression. Tend VR-MBI immerses you in a calming environment as it guides you through a structured 8-week programme, designed with people with lived experience and clinical experts. You will be supported through mindfulness training, meditation practices and interactive exercises designed to support skill learning. Our mobile companion app enhances and supports your learning each week, helping to integrate mindfulness into your everyday life.

Tend VR-MBI is registered as a Class 1 medical device with the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (date of initial registration: January 2025, renewed 2026). Tend’s Clinical Safety Officer and Clinical Safety Team have implemented all appropriate clinical risk management processes to comply with NHS Digital’s standards. Tend is a Digital Mental Health Technology.

Tend VR-MBI has undertaken a full Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) process. The DTAC is the NHS’s quick safety check for ealth apps and digital tools, to make sure they’re safe, secure, and trustworthy before they’re used with patients. Tend VR-MBI is compliant with the requirements of NCSC Cyber Essentials. Tend VR-MBI is DCB 0129 compliant.

The team comprises a group of people passionate about improving mental health across the globe. Our focus is on the potential of technology, particularly virtual reality, because we believe it can increase accessibility, improve reach, extend scalability and enable engagement of people with depression and/or anxiety.

Each member of the team brings their own expertise – developers, clinicians, researchers, clinical and research advisers, operations and finance leaders, a CEO and founders.

The vast majority of team members are not only experts in their field but also have lived experience of mental health issues, and most are neurodiverse.

Tend’s VR-MBI programme has its foundations in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). MBCT is one of the most well-established approaches for reducing anxiety, low mood, stress, and burnout, with a strong evidence base. It is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as an effective treatment for depression.

Tend VR-MBI adapts core MBCT principles and exercises into an immersive, virtual reality experience. Through guided sessions, it helps you develop greater awareness of your thoughts and feelings, and learn how to relate to them in a more balanced and helpful way.

Tend’s VR-MBI programme is delivered through weekly 45 minute sessions over 8 weeks using a VR headset, alongside a mobile companion app that supports you to practise and apply these skills in your everyday

Our research and NHS Talking Therapies Service delivery demonstrates that VR-MBI is a feasible, acceptable and effective intervention. Its scalability, accessibility and affordability mean it can be deployed across the prevention continuum:

• Primary prevention – VR-MBI supports general mental wellbeing and resilience to reduce the likelihood of mental health problems
• Secondary prevention – VR-MBI is positioned to offer timely support to individuals at higher risk, helping to prevent the onset or escalation of symptoms.
• Tertiary prevention – VR-MBI is scalable, does not rely on intensive clinician input and it is affordable, able to improve access for people with existing mental health difficulties, helping to reduce wait lists and mitigate the negative downstream impact of delayed treatment.

Everything Tend develop, design and deliver has been in partnership with users. From the first small pilot study through to our most recent planning for a study on Difficult to Treat Depression (DTD) we have started with the people we’re aiming to help, with people who are experts because of their own experience. Gradually, as each piece of research is considered, we have graduated from involvement through to our current approach of co-creation and co-production.

It is your choice to complete the course or to decide that it is not for yoiu.

You can withdraw at any stage and though we would appreciate some insights int your reasons for not completing the course, you are not obliged to tell us.

Who do I talk to if something goes wrong?
Please contact your service provider or reach out to us directly via support@tend-vr.com