Virtual reality therapy

Virtual reality therapy

Virtual reality therapy (VRT) is a method of psychotherapy that uses virtual reality technology to treat patients with anxiety disorders, post traumatic stress disorder, and several other medical phobias. New technology also allows for the treatment of addictions. The first research for VRT was done in the early 1990s. Pioneered by Dr. Max North. Barbara Rothbaum, David Ready and Larry Hodges founded the company [http://www.virtuallybetter.com Virtually Better] in 1996 to continue research and development. Examples of the many environments that exist are Virtual Iraq, Virtual Airplane, Virtual Nicotine, Virtual Elavator and Virtual Vietnam.

External links

* [http://www.healthyplace.com/Communities/ANXIETY/news/virtual_reality_therapy.asp HealthyPlace historical information]
* [http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000CDC34-D80E-10FA-89FB83414B7F0000 An article on VRT by Scientific American]

Virtual Reality therapy has many various programs that help patients in numerous ways. Some examples would be the program Virtual Iraq, fear of heights, public speaking, and other various phobias. Virtual Iraq helps individuals deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is a phobia that soldiers receive after coming home from war. Virtual Iraq takes the individual to a virtual war zone and adds certain elements to rid of the soldiers post traumatic stress disorder or cure the phobia a little bit. Virtual reality is also used in fear of heights, the individual is placed in a period of time where they only have the option of falling. Time is of the essence and the individual will conquer their fear of heights, if the individual can master falling off a 20 story building, then standing on a tree will be no big deal. Virtual reality therapy is also used for public speaking, the therapist puts the individual in a room with a full audience and the individual must give a lengthy speech. The individual will realize that they can do it and gain the courage to use their skills in real life. Some other phobias that virtual reality therapy consists of are fear of spiders, riding the train, riding on an airplane, 9/11, and many other phobias.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Virtual reality in telerehabilitation — is a method used first in the training of musculoskeletal patients using asynchronous patient data uploading, and an internet video link. Subsequently, therapists using virtual reality based telerehabilitation prescribe exercise routines via the… …   Wikipedia

  • Virtual reality — This article is about the sensory technology. For the Alan Ayckbourn play, see Virtual Reality (play). For the gamebook series, see Virtual Reality (gamebooks). U.S. Navy personnel using a VR parachute trainer …   Wikipedia

  • Gene therapy — using an Adenovirus vector. A new gene is inserted into an adenovirull. If the treatment is successful, the new gene will make a functional protein. Gene therapy is the insertion, alteration, or removal of genes within an individual s cells and… …   Wikipedia

  • Cynophobia — (pronounced /ˌsaɪnəˈfoʊbiə/, US dict: sī′·nə·fō′·bē·ə, from the Greek: κύων kýōn dog and φόβος phóbos fear ) is the abnormal fear of dogs. Cynophobia is classified as a specific phobia, under the subtype animal phobias .[1] According to …   Wikipedia

  • Cyberpsychology — The developing field of cyberpsychology encompasses all psychological phenomena that are associated with or affected by emerging technology. Cyber comes from the word cybernetics, the study of the operation of control and communication;… …   Wikipedia

  • Fear of flying — is a fear of being on a plane while in flight. It is also sometimes referred to as aerophobia, aviatophobia, aviophobia or pteromechanophobia.OverviewFear of flying may be a distinct phobia in itself, or it may be an indirect manifestation of one …   Wikipedia

  • Medical procedure — A medical procedure is a course of action intended to achieve a result in the care of persons with health problems. A medical procedure with the intention of determining, measuring or diagnosing a patient condition or parameter is also called a… …   Wikipedia

  • List of psychologists — This list includes notable psychologists and contributors to psychology, some of whom may not have thought of themselves primarily as psychologists but are included here because of their important contributions to the discipline.Specialized lists …   Wikipedia

  • VRT — vehicle rescue technician; virtual reality therapy; volume ray tracing; volume rendering technique …   Medical dictionary

  • VRT — • vehicle rescue technician; • virtual reality therapy; • volume ray tracing; • volume rendering technique …   Dictionary of medical acronyms & abbreviations

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”