The Netherlands – Centred on community and accessible healing, Bump Galaxy is a virtual mental health space by Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Bianca Carague.
Created in response to 2020 ‘amplifying feelings of stress, anxiety, depression and loneliness’, Carague has designed the conceptual virtual space to offer decentralised care for people, no matter where they are based in the world. Those logging on to the low-fi, Minecraft-inspired platform can navigate through multiple virtual locations, such as a forest where they can experience sound baths, sand dunes for dream reflection, and an underwater temple for hypnotherapy.
Trained practitioners are also present in Bump Galaxy, including healthcare professionals in fields such as hypnotherapy and relationship counselling, who can provide their services to users. With a focus on collaboration, Carague hopes to ‘de-institutionalise healthcare’ by combining traditional and unconventional wellbeing methods.
Virtual Sanctuaries like Bump Galaxy will help to empower care-giving and democratise approaches to wellbeing, something we explore further in the microtrend Decentralised Care.