The virtual whale helps to alleviate the fear of heights: study



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People who had lived with a fear of heights for decades became less frightened after the virtual reality therapy that saw them ride a whale, researchers said Thursday.

A specialized team including psychologists and IT experts They then announced a reduction of fears, they announced.

Treatments based on virtual reality, concludes the team, "have the potential to increase

With a virtual 'coach' to guide people through treatment, the new method could offer an inexpensive way to provide care to people who can not afford to have access to a therapist in person [19659002LcoachVRutiliselectedvoiceofa

Fear of heights, phobia the most common, affects one in five at some point in their lives, according to researchers who published their findings in the medical journal The Lancet Psychiatry. 196 59002] Most never receive treatment.

For the last study, the team recruited 100 volunteers. Half received VR treatment and the other half not, to allow comparison.

This was the first VR phobia treatment that did not require the presence of a real-life therapist, the team said. be as imaginative, entertaining and easy to navigate as possible, "says study leader Daniel Freeman of Oxford University's Department of Psychiatry

Wearing glbades and tactile gloves on a Firm ground, patients move around the 3D world centered in the mbadive atrium of a ten-storey computerized office building.

The 30-minute prerecorded programming sessions ran automatically, with the virtual coach explaining what the participants had to do.

a rickety bridge, save a cat from a tree, perform tasks near the edge of a balcony, and ride a flying whale.

The result after several sessions exceeded the expectations of the researchers

. Three-quarters of the participants receiving VR treatments showed at least a halve of their fear of heights, "said Freeman.

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