VIRTUAL REALITY THERAPy
ANXIETY DISORDERS
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health illnesses that affect Americans in today’s world. About 18 percent of Americans from the age 18 and older suffer from some sort of anxiety disorder. A moderated amount of anxiety is healthy and helps the mind stay alert, focused, and motivates solving problems. However, anxiety disorders provoke an overwhelming amount of emotion that hinders a person's ability to handel a certain situation.
TREATMENT OF ANXIETY DISORDERS
Anxiety disorders are normally treated by medication, psychotherapy or a combination of the two. Medication is normally used when the symptoms are uncontrollable and psychotherapy fails. Psychotherapy teaches patients how to deal with their symptoms when their anxiety occurs and how to handle the situations that provoke their anxieties. A more modern form of psychotherapy that is used to treat anxiety disorders is virtual reality therapy.
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health illnesses that affect Americans in today’s world. About 18 percent of Americans from the age 18 and older suffer from some sort of anxiety disorder. A moderated amount of anxiety is healthy and helps the mind stay alert, focused, and motivates solving problems. However, anxiety disorders provoke an overwhelming amount of emotion that hinders a person's ability to handel a certain situation.
TREATMENT OF ANXIETY DISORDERS
Anxiety disorders are normally treated by medication, psychotherapy or a combination of the two. Medication is normally used when the symptoms are uncontrollable and psychotherapy fails. Psychotherapy teaches patients how to deal with their symptoms when their anxiety occurs and how to handle the situations that provoke their anxieties. A more modern form of psychotherapy that is used to treat anxiety disorders is virtual reality therapy.
What is VIRTUAL REALITY THEAPY?
This modern therapy is proven successful in treating anxiety disorders such as Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), acrophobia, fear of heights, and arachnophobia, fear of spiders. Virtual reality therapy (VRT) places a person in a computer-generated world where they experience the various stimuli related to the phobia the person struggles with. Therapists are able to create 3-D environments which simulate real-life situations in their offices. The presence of the therapist helps the patient to feel more relaxed which in-turn helps with working through the situation that provokes their anxiety. A head mounted display generates the simulation the patient views during the therapy session.
The above video is about CNN reporter, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, experiencing a virtual reality therapy session of a war simulation. The simulation he is experiencing is similar to what would be used for a soldier suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). At the end of the video Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains that as he continuously went through the treatment, he felt more in control of the situation and sees why this is effective for the treatment of PTSD patients.
Future for virtual reality therapy
Now that this form of therapy has been proven effective, it is becoming more accessible in the health care system. The increasing popularity and availability will cause the price of virtual reality treatments to lower, so everyone will be able to afford it. Also as the popularity grows there will be a demand for this treatment, so training programs will be created for clinical psychologists currently practicing. VRT will also become a part of all psychology textbooks and a required part of the curriculum. Virtual reality therapy will soon become a major part of psychotherapy and be the future for clinical psychology.
References
Deacon , B., & Olatunji, B. (2009). The cruelest cure? Ethical issues in the implementation of exposure-based treatments. Sciencedirect, 16(2), 172-180.
Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com
Gorrindo, T., & Groves, J. (2009). Computer simulation and virtual reality in the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders. Academic Psychiatry, 33(5), 413-417. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Li, A., Montano, Z., Gold, J., & Chen, V. (2011). Virtual reality and pain management: current trends and future directions. National Institute of Health ,1(2), 147-157. doi: 10.2217/pmt.10.15
Images:
Top~http://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/january/virtual-lab-tours-011212.html
Top Left~ http://elianealhadeff.blogspot.com/2008/09/vret-serious-games-treat-anxiety.html
Bottom right~http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Virtual-Reality-A-New-Therapy-for-PTSD-Victims-155415875.htmlBottom left-http://ict.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ptsd-3.jpg
Video:
http://elianealhadeff.blogspot.com/2008/09/vret-serious-games-treat-anxiety.html
USciences
WRT 102-06
Breoscha West
WRT 102-06
Breoscha West