Mind games: VR therapy is helping people navigate phobias
Hindustan TimesAs VR worlds go, they’re not the most exciting: the participant ambles down a crowded street, steps onto a bus, walks to the edge of a diving board. For 26 weeks, 174 patients spent time in this simulated world, walking down a street, ordering a meal at a restaurant, making eye contact with virtual characters. At the end of six weeks, these participants showed significant reductions in agoraphobic avoidance compared to a control group of 172 patients with similar symptoms who received similar care but no access to the VR program. The lack of regional language options also limits user experience.” Still, the novelty of the technology has drawn about 20 takers since the clinic began offering it in January 2021. In his experience, Dr Chatterjee says, even experiences that aren’t perfectly crafted to suit the audience “do give people the confidence that if they can get over something in VR, they can get over it in the real world as well, through slow, sustained effort.”
History of this topic
Why some people feel motion sickness while playing VR games while others do not: Research
Hindustan TimesChronic pain is one of the world's biggest health problems — but virtual reality headsets could help bring relief
ABC
Study Says Virtual Reality App Trial Can Reduce Common Phobias
News 18
People with psychosis who were scared of leaving home ‘helped by VR’
The Independent
Virtual reality could cure depression
Daily Mail
Researchers develop low-cost app to help combat fear of heights
Dutch News
Researchers develop low-cost app to help combat fear of heights
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