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MA ADA 2009 > articles > VR exposure therapy in 3D virtual world _The application of VR_003

VR exposure therapy in 3D virtual world _The application of VR_003

May 9, 05:24 PM · Manki Park

Mental disorders

Psychiatric disorder as mental illness relatively has the highest rate among young people group rather than other population group in the US (4). For example, findings from the survey showed that more than 60% of young people aged 19 to 21 years olds will suffer from mental disorder during their life (5). Especially, the likelihood of mental disorder is higher among young people in urban areas. National studies found that only about 20% to 40% of people who had a mental health disorder in the past 12 months had received treatment during the period (ibid). Another problem is that living in a rural area was difficult to receive treatment relatively rather than those living in more urban areas. Investigations by Rueter et. al. (4) focused on mental health in rural areas. The researchers found issues regarding barriers of service use, methods of service delivery, ethical issues related to offering mental health services in small communities (4).

Virtual health service for mental disease

Gorini suggested that the efficacy of VR exposure therapy in 3D virtual world for the diagnosis and treatment of various psychological disorders (1). During the VR exposure, the patient is immersed in a virtual environment and the therapist can accompany the patient as giving a particular threatening experience to them (ibid). Subsequently, they can share their experience in the same online virtual space as interaction between them. For example, the patient can be taken to a virtual world by the therapist and asked to joint a conversation by other avatars (not patients). Finally, patients can get feedback from therapists through real-time audio and microphone. Moreover, patients suffering from addiction disorders such as drug abuse and gambling can be exposed to specific kinds of dangerous situations without instruction. As a result, virtual world exposure provides the patient with realistic 3D visualization of the feared situation and gains the therapist information about patients, which is more effective that therapists can easily record psycho-physiological symptom before, during, and after exposure from the feared situation (3). Pull demonstrated that it is effective to obtain objective measures of the individual changes (2). This procedure showed that VR exposure is as effective as traditional methods to care mental diseases.

Biobliography

(1) Gorini, A. (2008) A Second Life for eHealth: Prospects for the Use of 3-D Virtual Worlds in Clinical Psychology. Journal of Medical Internet Research 10(3): 1-22.

(2) Pull, C.B. (2005) Current status of virtual reality exposure therapy in anxiety disorders: editorial review. Curr Opin Psychiatry. 18(1): 7-14.

(3) Rizzo, A., Pair, J., McNerney P.J., Eastlund, E., Manson, B., Gratch, J. et. al. (2005) Development of a VR therapy application for Iraq war military personnel with PTSD. Stud Health Technology Information. 111: 407-413.

(4) Rueter, M., Holm, K.,Burzette, R.,Kim, K. J. and Conger, R.(2007)
Mental Health of Rural Young Adults: Prevalence of Psychiatric Disorders.
Comorbidity, and Service Utilization Community Mental Health Journal. 43(3): 1-21.

(5) Wang, P. S., Lane, M., Olfson, M., Pincus, H. A., Wells, K. B., & Kessler, R. C. (2005) Twelvemonth use of mental health services in the United States: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry. 62(6): 629–640.

URL References

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Designing VR Exposure Therapy Simulations for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders

 

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