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Scientists use Virtual Reality to treat individuals with anxiety disorders

Monday, 14 March 2016 6:52 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 14 March 2016 6:50 PM ]

Virtual reality exposure therapy places the client in a computer-generated world where they "experience" the various stimuli related to their phobia.

Take a walk down any street and out of every 10 people you pass, one will probably be afflicted by social phobia at some point in their life. Phobias may vary drastically in terms of their prevalence and severity, but they are rather more common than we realize.

The Virtual Reality (VR) Treatment Program offers a new human-computer interaction form of therapy for individuals with anxiety disorders due to fear of heights, elevators, thunderstorms, public speaking and flying.

Virtual reality exposure therapy places the client in a computer-generated world where they "experience" the various stimuli related to their phobia. The client wears a head-mounted display with small TV monitors and stereo earphones to receive both visual and auditory cues.

French patient Denis Duet wearing a virtual reality (VR) headset undergoes a VR therapy session called "CtrlStress" at the laboratory of the Institut des Sciences du Mouvement (The Institute of Movement Sciences) in Marseille on January 26, 2016. (AFP)

Psychiatrists and software engineers in Argentina are helping people overcome their fears by recreating 3D scenarios tailored to their phobia. Scientific evidence increasingly supports the use of virtual reality technology in the field of mental health. Psychiatrists synchronize the virtual reality headset with a smartphone and a computer. They then assess the patient's anxiety level. Experts say a journey into this computer-simulated reality lasts for 45 minutes to one hour.

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