V I R T U A L R E A L I T Y T H E R AP Y : A N E F F E C T I V E TR E AT M E N T F O R P H O B I A S

Behavioral therapy techniques for treating phobias often includes graded exposure of the patient to anxiety-producing stimuli (Systematic Desensitization). However, in utilizing systematic desensitization, research reviews demonstrate that many patients appear to have difficulty in applying imaginative techniques. This chapter describes the Virtual Reality Therapy (VRT), a new therapeutical approach that can be used to overcome some of the difficulties inherent in the traditional treatment of phobias. VRT, like current imaginal and in vivo modalities, can generate stimuli that could be utilized in desensitization therapy. Like systematic desensitization therapy, VRT can provide stimuli for patients who have difficulty in imagining scenes and/or are too phobic to experience real situations. As far as we know, the idea of using virtual reality technology to combat psychological disorders was first conceived within the Human-Computer Interaction Group at Clark Atlanta University in November 1992. Since then, we have successfully conducted the first known pilot experiments in the use of virtual reality technologies in the treatment of specific phobias: fear of flying, fear of heights, fear of being in certain situations (such as a dark barn, an enclosed bridge over a river, and in the presence of an animal (a black cat) in a dark room), and fear of public speaking. The results of these experiments are described. Behavioral therapy techniques for treating phobias often include graded exposure of the patient to anxiety-producing stimuli (Systematic Desensitization). These stimuli are commonly generated either through the patient's imagination or in vivo (patient experiences real situations). In utilizing systematic desensitization, research reviews demonstrate that many patients appear to have difficulty imagining the prescribed anxiety-evoking scene. They also express strong aversion to experiencing real situations. This avoidance is not surprising, since it is simply the behavioral component of a phobia, and may well be a learned behavior that lowers the anxiety of clients, thus reducing their public embarrassment. Virtual Reality Therapy (VRT) may be utilized to overcome some of the difficulties inherent in the traditional treatment of phobias. VRT, like current imaginal and in vivo modalities, can generate stimuli that can be utilized in desensitization therapy. Unlike conventional systematic desensitization therapy, VRT can provide stimuli for patients who have difficulty in imagining scenes and/or are too phobic to experience real situations. Furthermore, unlike in vivo systematic desensitization, VRT can be performed within the privacy of a room, thus avoiding public embarrassment and violation of patient confidentiality. VRT can also generate stimuli of much greater perceived magnitude than standard in vivo techniques. Since VRT is under patient control, it appears safer than in vivo desensitization and at the same time more realistic than imaginal desensitization. Finally, VRT