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This is demonstrated by an essay published Thursday in the scientific journal The Lancet Psychiatry, the first in which VR technology – which introduces the user into a virtual environment – is used for new psychological interventions.
Acrophobia is the most common phobia and one in five claims to have suffered throughout its life, while one in twenty is clinically affected.
The experiment, led by Daniel Freeman, University of Oxford (UK), used 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 virtual reality software, while the other half (51) received the usual treatment
Each individual had to cover questionnaires on the severity his acrophobia at the beginning and end of the process, and attend a control meeting at which
The VR therapy included six half-hour sessions for two weeks during which, gradually, the Users were entering complex spaces where they had to face their fear of simple tasks, such as looking through a fence, walking on a floating platform, or saving downloaded cats on a tree.
The program has a virtual coach that guides users and offers lessons.
During the game you can hear him say, "The reason we are afraid of heights is that we think something bad is going to happen, and that makes us anxious, and then we end up avoiding the heights because they cool, but I'm going to show you how to look at these thoughts in a new way. "
All users who had been treated for VR claimed that their acrophobia had been reduced and, during the follow-up session, 34 people said they were not afraid of heights; "Virtual reality treatments have the potential to be effective, faster, and more appealing to many patients," said Freeman, adding that it could be "a system". of".
However, experts have recognized some deficiencies in the trial, such as not comparing it with other current therapies for phobias or not assessing fear in a real-life scenario.
One participant said that he had noticed that in his day-to-day life he was "less hostile to edges, steps, heights".
"I still have a small reaction, both in the VR and on the outside.
The next step is to check if automated processes using virtual reality programs can be effective. when treating other mental health disorders.
Source: EFE
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