Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy and Physiological Data Analysis for Treatment of Stress Disorders

Anxiety disorders are diagnosed when people become overreactive, disassociated, and feel emotionally unable to control feelings to the extent that their daily lifes are affected. Driving phobia is one of the widespread anxiety disorders in modern society, which cause problematic disruptions of a patient's daily activities. Exposure therapy is an approach gaining popularity for treating patients with stress disorders. Virtual reality (VR) technology allows people to interact with objects and stimuli in an immersive way. The VR for phobic therapy using indirect exposure, which can be safely discontinued or lowed in terms of intensity, is the area of research with literature published and patents granted. This research focuses on reviewing virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) literature and patents. The chapter also presents the research and development of a novel driving phobia VRET system with the detailed experiments to demonstrate the design, development, implementation, enhancement, and verification of VRET.

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Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy of Anxiety Disorders

Advances in Psychological Science ◽

10.3724/sp.j.1042.2012.01277 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 20 (8) ◽

pp. 1277-1286 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Guang-Xin WANG ◽

Li LI

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Anxiety Disorders ◽

Exposure Therapy ◽

Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy ◽

Virtual Reality Exposure

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Experiences of Gamified and Automated Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Spider Phobia: Qualitative Study

JMIR Serious Games ◽

10.2196/17807 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. e17807 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Philip Lindner ◽

Alexander Rozental ◽

Alice Jurell ◽

Lena Reuterskiöld ◽

Gerhard Andersson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Anxiety Disorders ◽

Exposure Therapy ◽

Real Life ◽

Spider Phobia ◽

Semistructured Interview ◽

User Experiences ◽

Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy ◽

Virtual Reality Exposure

Background Virtual reality exposure therapy is an efficacious treatment of anxiety disorders, and recent research suggests that such treatments can be automated, relying on gamification elements instead of a real-life therapist directing treatment. Such automated, gamified treatments could be disseminated without restrictions, helping to close the treatment gap for anxiety disorders. Despite initial findings suggesting high efficacy, very is little is known about how users experience this type of intervention. Objective The aim of this study was to examine user experiences of automated, gamified virtual reality exposure therapy using in-depth qualitative methods. Methods Seven participants were recruited from a parallel clinical trial comparing automated, gamified virtual reality exposure therapy for spider phobia against an in vivo exposure equivalent. Participants received the same virtual reality treatment as in the trial and completed a semistructured interview afterward. The transcribed material was analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Many of the uncovered themes pertained directly or indirectly to a sense of presence in the virtual environment, both positive and negative. The automated format was perceived as natural and the gamification elements appear to have been successful in framing the experience not as psychotherapy devoid of a therapist but rather as a serious game with a psychotherapeutic goal. Conclusions Automated, gamified virtual reality exposure therapy appears to be an appealing treatment modality and to work by the intended mechanisms. Findings from the current study may guide the next generation of interventions and inform dissemination efforts and future qualitative research into user experiences.

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