Jewel’s mental health metaverse project is surprisingly earnest

Singer and songwriter Jewel has created a comforting camp in the unexpected venue of the metaverse, and it’s not what you might expect. Jewel co-founded Innerworld, which is a virtual reality-based health and wellness centre. It’s meant as a curated social experience, accessible with an anonymous avatar, that could be an alternative or augmentation to traditional talk therapy.

Innerworld can either be accessed through the Meta Quest on Mac, PC and iPad or via the iPhone. You can access it for free. However, you will be charged $8 per month to get unlimited group sessions and other features. “Everyone has an avatar, and there’s a live guide, and there’s constant peer-to-peer programming based on established cognitive behavioral methods,” Jewel told People magazine. “If you’re acutely triggered, you can log into Innerworld,” said Jewel.

It’s a little wild to see metaverse characters, represented by a head, torso, and bobbing set of hands, showing up in a virtual space to work on their mental health. The community centers are built around a fireplace and offer users the option of a private room or a communal living area.

“You can say to the guide, ‘My pet just died. I’m really sad. What do you recommend?’ And then they can pull up a visual tool, like the grief cycle, and you can talk about it with the guide, or you can talk to other community members,” said Jewel. Innerworld offers classes on mental health and life skills.

Innerworld was opened in 2022 and has been home to over 20,000 people. The metaverse experience is designed to be as accessible as possible, and while the visuals look a little goofy, it’s a welcome relief from the usual flood of advertisements and real estate offers that seem to accompany projects in the metaverse.