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EFE / London
A new automated psychological therapy based on a virtual reality (VR) program could help reduce fear of the size of people diagnosed with acrophobia alone.
As shown in an essay published yesterday in the scientific journal The Lancet Psychiatry, the first in which VR technology is used – which introduces the user into a virtual environment – for new psychological interventions.
Acrophobia is the most common phobia and one in five people claim to have suffered throughout their lives, while one in twenty is clinically diagnosed with the disease.
The experiment, conducted by Daniel Freeman, University of Oxford (UK), uses a sample of one hundred people diagnosed with acrophobia who did not receive any psychological therapy.
About half of the participants (49) were treated with the RV software, while the other half (51)
Each individual had to answer questionnaires about the severity of his acrophobia at the beginning and at the end. the end of the process, and attend a control meeting four weeks after the end of treatment
. in six half-hour sessions during two weeks during which, gradually, users found themselves in complex spaces where they had to face their fear of simple tasks, like looking through a barrier, walking on a floating platform or rescue cats uploaded to a tree
The program has a virtual trainer that guides users and offers lessons.
During the game you can hear it say: The reason we are afraid of heights is because we think that something bad is going to happen. And that makes us anxious. Then we end up avoiding heights because they cool down. But I will show you how to look at these thoughts in a new way.
All users who completed the RV treatment reported that their acrophobia had been reduced and, in the follow-up session, 34 people said they were not afraid of heights; but the 51 of the other procedure was as before.
Virtual reality treatments have the potential to be effective, faster, and more appealing to many patients, Freeman said, adding that it can be a system-wide effect. High quality.
However, experts have recognized some deficiencies in the trial, such as not comparing it with other current therapies for phobias or not badessing fear in a real-life scenario.
Assured participant that he noticed how in his day he was less unfavorable to the edges, the steps, the sizes.
I still have a small reaction, both in the RV and on the outside, but it is shorter and I can feel my thighs They relax, since I do not feel the need to & dquo; To go grab the edge, seal.
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