[ad_1]
PARIS: People who had lived with fear of heights for decades became less scared by the virtual reality (VR) therapy that saw them mount a flying whale, researchers said.
A specialized team of psychologists and IT experts put the confirmed acrophobes to the test in a series of virtual reality simulations, after which all reported "a reduction of fear," they announced.
VR-based treatments, the team concluded, "have the potential to dramatically increase the provision of treatment for mental health disorders."
With a virtual "coach" to guide people through treatment, the new method could offer an inexpensive way of providing care to people who can not afford it or who do not have it access to a therapist face-to-face.
The VR coach uses the recorded voice of an actor.
Fear of heights, the most common phobia, affects one in five at some point in their lives, according to researchers who published their findings in the medical journal The Lancet Psychiatry .
Most never receive treatment.
For the last study, the team recruited 100 volunteers. Half received RV treatment and the other half not, to allow comparison.
This was the first VR phobia treatment to not require the presence of a real-life therapist, the team said.
"We designed the treatment as imaginatively, entertainingly, and easy to navigate as possible," said study leader Daniel Freeman of the University's Department of Psychiatry. ; Oxford.
Wearing goggles and tactile gloves safely on firm ground, patients were moving into a 3D world centered on the massive atrium of a ten-story computerized office building.
The 30-minute prerecorded programming sessions ran automatically, with the virtual coach explaining what the participants had to do.
Tasks consisted of crossing a wobbly bridge, rescuing a cat from a tree, performing tasks near the edge of a balcony and riding a flying whale.
The result after several sessions exceeded the expectations of the researchers.
According to self-reported comments, "more than three-quarters of participants receiving VR treatments showed at least a halve of their fear of heights," Freeman said. – AFP
[ad_2]
Source link
