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A new study from Oxford University researchers used a virtual reality-based treatment to help people overcome a clinically significant fear of heights. VR treatment is the first to demonstrate the effectiveness of a fully automated therapy guided by a virtual computer-generated therapist who responds to the patient's voice.
More than a simple means of entertainment, modern virtual reality is seriously studied as a treatment model for a variety of phobias and psychological disorders. From a therapy for arachnophobia to a way to overcome the anxiety of public speaking, VR offers a variety of new therapeutic directions to improve mental health.
Most of these earlier VR psychological experiments involved a therapist present to directly guide a patient through a specific experience, but this new Oxford study demonstrates an entirely autonomous model with sessions run by a computer-generated therapist .
Subjects in the experimental group received six 30-minute VR sessions over a two-week period. These sessions were guided by a virtual coach named Nic, who led the participants through a series of activities designed to affirm the safety of the experiences that subjects perceive as dangerous or anxiety-provoking.
"We designed the treatment as imaginative, entertaining and easy to navigate," says Daniel Freeman, one of the team leaders on the project. The tasks asked participants consisted of crossing a rickety alley, saving a cat from a tree in the atrium of the building, painting an image and playing a xylophone on the edge of a balcony, and then ride a virtual whale around the space atrium! "
The results were extraordinarily impressive with VR participants showing, on average, a 68 percent reduction in their height fear compared to a randomly assigned control group who received no VR therapy. The automated nature of a treatment method like this demonstrates a way to deploy widespread therapies that do not require the extra cost and resources required by the presence of trained therapists. "The results are extraordinarily good," says Freeman. "We were convinced that the treatment would prove effective, but the results exceeded our expectations: more than three quarters of participants receiving VR treatments showed at least a halving of their fear of heights.Our study demonstrates that virtual reality can be an extremely powerful way "
The study was however not limitless, d & # 39; 39 as well as the results were determined by questionnaires and self-assessments rather than actual behavioral tests at height. The long-term effects are also unclear and further studies need to be performed on larger groups of people with clinically diagnosed acrophobia.
But, the implications of this type of automated VR therapy are fascinating. The researchers suggest that it is uncertain how many other mental health problems and phobias this type of VR therapy would be transferable, but the potential benefits certainly require more research. The possibility of having VR-guided programs that can clinically help millions of people at a distance without the need for direct supervision of the therapist is undeniably compelling.
"But what's even more exciting is the ability to use VR to tackle mental health issues. like depression, psychosis and addiction, "says Freeman. "Rigorous testing will be essential, but it seems like we can consider much of the future of mental health treatments."
The study was published in the journal The Lancet Psychiatry . ] Source: University of Oxford
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