Anxiety Disorders Center: Virtual Reality Therapy
CBT for anxiety disorders utilizes exposure to
feared stimuli as a main component of treatment. Sometimes these exposures can
be difficult to create in an office setting (example: speaking
in front of a large audience) or can be too expensive to engage in on a
regular basis (example: flying
in an airplane). Fortunately there are alternatives that have shown to be
very effective in treating anxiety disorders. Virtual Reality (VR) has been
used to expand the variety of scenarios that can be created in an office setting
to help individuals overcome their fears. During a
VR session the client
wears goggles and headphones that are attached to a computer. They will see and
hear a computer simulated scenario based upon their feared situation. A
therapist is present in the room and communicates with you via the headphones to
help you through the exposure. The therapist can adjust various elements of the
program before and during a session in order to tailor the scenario to your
treatment needs.
The ADC currently has several VR simulations:
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Fear of flying
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Social Phobia
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Public speaking
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Job interview
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Fear of thunderstorms
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Fear of elevators/heights
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PTSD related to Vietnam
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PTSD related to Iraq
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PTSD related to Afghanistan
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PTSD related to he collapse of the World Trade Center
VR can be used as a major or minor component to your
therapy. The treating clinician can help determine the extent to which VR
needs to be used in treatment. Even for those treatments in which VR is the
main exposure element, real world exposures will be an important part of
treatment. For example, an individual who fears flying may use VR to
overcome their fear, but a plane flight will still be a necessary element of
their treatment.
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Sample of VR simulation utilized
for treating social phobia.
(large audience scenario)
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Sample of VR simulation for
treating fear of flying.
(looking through window during flight)
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Typical
virtual reality simulation session. |
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