Virtual Reality, a therapeutic solution to modern problems and mental health

Using exposure therapy in VR to treat paranoia(Video/Media Don’t click the link below)

This article exemplifies exposure therapy by confronting patients with their phobias and flowing a patient named Edwin. A patient stricken with fear in public places and constantly thinking people are going to attack him. Temming talks about his adjustment and success being in these scenarios(like the video above) and how he recovered. Edwin later went on to perform a poem in front of 300 people!(Temming,M) Through frequent exposure in VR and a therapist, patients can begin to be desensitized to their fears(Temming, M.).

Temming, M. (2018, December 11). Virtual reality therapy has real-life benefits for some mental disorders. Retrieved July 20, 2019, from Science News website: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/virtual-reality-therapy-has-real-life-benefits-some-mental-disorders

A VR supermarket designed to expose you to common fears

Take the pain the way: virtual health(Media)

With the turn of the century mental health and wellness have come to increasingly more prominence, and physicians have struggled to keep up with it. Tech companies such as VRHealth are exploring new ways to deal with pain management. An up and coming, cost effective approach VRHealth is taking is through the combination of physical and cognitive therapies.(Lo,C) Traditional therapy involving physical therapy and medication based on a patient’s needs can not only be tricky but damaging to their health in the future, considering medication can lead to developing addiction and dependencies creating different problems down the line. Instead of this traditional method a powerful new alternative is a combination of physical and cognitive therapy through VR. Through physical and cognitive therapy, doctors utilized the powerful method of immersive distraction to process a patient’s pain providing a new un-explored outlet for the traditional long-term pain relief medication.(Lo,C)

Elderly patent clearly in awe, distracted from her current pain

Das, R. (n.d.). Virtual Reality: The Alternative To Marijuana And Opioids For Pain Management. Retrieved July 20, 2019, from Forbes website: https://www.forbes.com/sites/reenitadas/2018/05/31/virtual-reality-the-alternative-to-marijuana-and-opioids-for-pain-management/

Chris Lo describes the human brain like a CPU where 75% of resources goes to visuals and sound and by overloading our CPU with immersive technology like VR, things like pain can be downgraded in our priority list. Which is why if VR can be more widely utilized in society as an initial alternative to the traditional therapy methods, patients can be provided with a superior method of treatment which will be more effective and better in the long term for the patient’s health. For example, a patient going into therapy after a traumatizing incident can be tough not only on their physical state but their mental health. By creating an engaging environment for the patient to not only be distract but engage in fun activities to encourage their therapeutic goals while they train their cognitive and motor skills in a fun way. As well no patient’s treatment is the same and VR provides a platform to create a multitude of different therapies depending on the patient, targeting specific rehabilitation and helping a broader set of users. As the mental battle is almost the biggest part, if a patient can be encouraged to engage in therapy using VR and continuous to gain results and positive re-enforcement, they will not fall into the idea of needing to be dependent on medication for pain relief as they train their brain with a healthier coping mechanism. As well it provides patients with a universal way of receiving treatment as they can use VR anywhere despite their location and still get the same treatment as any other patient without having to travel and pay higher costs for physical therapy and medication. As a headset, VR has the protentional to become a standard medical device which could potentially be adopted by countless health care professionals in order to provide a diverse set of treatments to different patients depending on their needs.

Autism therapy meets VR(Media)

Autism is topic of discussion for VR research as well. Although different in nature,, those with autism can exhibit similar difficulty to those with conditions such as ADD or ADHD and can be treated similarly in some cases (Strickland, D). Using this knowledge, one could stipulate practices from ADD and ADHD research that can be brought to VR for autism.

Snelson, C. (2018, October 12). 3 Positive Uses of Virtual Reality. Retrieved from https://blog.vrplayin.ca/3-positive-uses-of-virtual-reality

Some of such could be the controlled use of stimuli presented to the children. Like attention deficit disorders, younger aged patients have difficulty separating different kinds of stimuli, additionally struggling to determine rewards, leading to distracted, bored and otherwise self-centered individuals. The lack of this distinction can lead to anti-social behaviors, encouraging negative cycles of development patterns. With VR one could control the environment plus simplify the stimuli received, and change it to the user’s expectations (Strickland, D). Through this you can remove visual distractions and sound, while providing a consistent and tolerable environment for the child. Therefore, personalizing the experience to the user.

Researchers are using VR to understand autism. (2018, April 19). Retrieved July 20, 2019, from Next Nature Network website: https://www.nextnature.net/2018/04/using-vr-to-understand-autism/

The potential of such control can be taken a step further to create communications with these individuals, reaching safer situations and creating less hazardous and forgiving environments.

Additionally, those with Autism often struggle with personally peer to peer interaction with real people. To fix this, VR offers another avenue, users can interact with these set pieces on their own with minimal supervision and in person interaction. Thus, offering a more gradual build-up to the addition stimuli accompanied with in person session. As a service we can see many ways mental diseases such as Autism can be treated with these tactics. Ranging from the controlled use of stimuli to creation of safe environments and individualized treatment VR is a very flexible tool for physical and cognitive therapies.