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Researchers have discovered that virtual reality exercises can help relieve fear of heights, showing that technology can be used as an accessible and affordable tool for mental health treatments.
The study was published this week in The Lancet Psychiatry. The first to use virtual reality without a therapist – a concept that researchers say could be the future of mental health treatment for a variety of problems.
"Immersive virtual reality therapies that do not need a therapist have the potential to increase psychological interventions," said Daniel Freeman, a professor in a press release. Oxford University. "We need more qualified therapists, not less, but to meet the strong demand for mental health treatments, we need powerful technology solutions."
The study examined 100 people with one of them the treatment of virtual reality and the rest a more typical treatment. Participants answered questions about the severity of their fear at the start of the trial, at the end of two-week treatment, and then at a follow-up after four weeks
The treatment of virtual reality involved six, 30-minute sessions where participants would wear a virtual reality headset to enter a simulated world that has defied their fear to varying degrees, such as walking on a platform overlooking a large drop or rescuing a cat from a tree.
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Most participants badigned to treatment completed the full course , the researchers said. Of these, study authors heard that virtual reality experiences helped, with participants reporting that they were less anxious when they looked over the edges or had reached peaks in their lives.
However, researchers noted long-term data on study participants, which was completed earlier this year. It is also unclear whether virtual reality could be beneficial for those with mental health problems apart from phobias or anxiety, the researchers said.
Virtual reality is used by therapists to treat a number of problems. At the AMITA Health Behavioral Medicine Institute in the northwestern suburbs, therapist Patrick McGrath has been using technology for several years.
Her clients use virtual reality to overcome phobias, including fear of heights, anxiety problems and post-traumatic stress. , and addiction, alcohol and smoking. McGrath said that the concept uses a typical treatment theory to "face your fear," but in a safe environment.
Virtual reality allows someone to safely confront a dangerous situation. For someone who is afraid of heights, said McGrath. In virtual reality, "we can do all this stuff and slowly acclimate people."
"The goal of therapy is to help people learn to live with their discomfort," he said. added.
McGrath uses the virtual reality headset to create a situation and also incorporates noises and smells to create the scene.
"I can put you in a virtual auditorium and give you a speech," he said. "I can get them into a service station, accompany them with a beer cooler and teach them that … does not mean that they have to have a beer while they're there." [19659002] By exposure to fear or by temptation McGrath said, "These things are very treatable," he said, adding that this is even more the case with the availability of reality Virtual. "You can simply slide your phone in a visor."
"My goal is to teach people that they can face their fears," he said. Many "do not need drugs and years of speech therapy."
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