Gradual and systematic exposure is one of the most effective techniques for the treatment of anxiety disorders. Traditionally, this was applied in vivo or through imagination but, despite good results, about 25% of patients reject exposure or abandon treatment (Marks, 1992). To reduce this percentage, new ways of applying the exposure technique must be found, and one of them is virtual reality (VR), which allows simulating a situation in which the patient can interact with the real elements that generate anxiety.
The fact that the situation is a simulation, not real, in many cases encourages the patient to better accept exposure. A study conducted by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya supports this statement, as they asked a sample of people who scored high on a spider fear questionnaire about their preferences for in vivo exposure versus virtual exposure, and the vast majority (around 85%) chose virtual exposure (García-Palacios et al., 2001).
All studies indicate that virtual exposure is more effective than a control condition; it is as effective as the component of choice for applying exposure (in vivo exposure); and that achievements generalize from virtual situations to real situations. Furthermore, they are maintained long-term.
Advantages of virtual reality
– Allows repeating the same exposure task without modifying its parameters. Thus, a patient can be exposed to a specific situation multiple times in a single session.
– Exposure can be carried out in the same consultation room. This helps protect patient privacy.
– Situations can be graduated according to the patient’s needs without waiting for them to happen in real life.
Some examples of VR’s usefulness as a tool for applying exposure:
– Treatment of claustrophobia, recreating a virtual world with various scenarios such as rooms with windows and doors that can be opened and closed, rooms without windows that can reduce their size and block the exit, elevators of different sizes and in breakdown situations, etc.
– Treatment of agoraphobia, designing typically agoraphobic scenarios such as the bus, subway or train, a tunnel or shopping mall, etc. And to these, physiological symptoms can be added through visual and sound effects to recreate situations as real as possible. In this case, recent studies indicate that virtual exposure is as effective as in vivo exposure (Botella, et al., in press and Anderson et al., 2004).
– Treatment of fear of flying, simulating three spaces related to flying, such as packing suitcases in a hotel room, the airport, and the flight itself (with takeoff, flight, and landing day and night and with optional adverse weather conditions).
– Treatment of fear of spiders and other animals, recreating real spaces where the patient could encounter the animal (if it’s a spider, it could be in a room at home or the garden; if it’s a dog, the park, an elevator, or the street itself).
The Master’s in Third-Generation Therapies and Application of New Technologies in Psychological Treatment equips you to carry out effective interventions in the treatment of the main behavioral disorders through the lens of Third-Generation Therapies and with the help of ICT.