VR exposure as effective as in vivo exposure for phobia

In trials, virtual reality (VR) exposure has proven to be as effective as in vivo exposure as a treatment for several types of phobia. VR also has several practical advantages. VR is a representation and a perception of apparent reality and its physical properties in a real-time, computer-generated, and interactive virtual environment. In psychiatry, VR is used more and more often –both for research and therapeutic purposes– as an alternative for classical exposure of patients to a specific environment. Prof. Peter Zwanzger (kbo-Inn-Salzach-Klinikum, Germany) reviewed the state-of-the-art [1]. Advantages of VR are, amongst others, that it is easy to perform, highly practical, and discrete. This makes VR exposure far more acceptable for patients compared with in vivo exposure [2]. Another advantage of VR is that the situational setting can be manipulated actively and in real time by the doctor or by the patient. Surprisingly, althou...

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Posted on 28 November, 2022