Virtual reality exposure therapy (VERT) is an alternative to standard in vivo (real life) exposure therapy that can make treatment of phobia and anxiety disorders more efficient, affordable, and comfortable for patients.
Exposure therapy is defined a psychotherapy that utilizes the repetition of real, visualized, or simulated exposure to a feared situation, traumatic event/memory, or object in order to achieve habituation.
In lay-man's terms, it is a form of therapy that asks the patient to face their fear repeatedly so that they can get used to it or conquer it.
Traditionally, exposure was achieved in vivo, or real confrontation and through visualized confrontation (where the patient has to visualize or imagine a confrontation). VERT introduces an alternative that can be considered the best of both words as it allows for a virtual confrontation experience where human-computer interaction can allow the user to become an active participant in a computer generated three dimensional environment.
VERT has been found to be successful alternative to real exposure therapy in treatment common phobias such as of fear of heights, flying, and spiders
VERT is still a relatively unknown treatment method and though the general public may question its validity, it has been found to be better than, or on par with, in vivo and visualization.
In a study on the treatment of acrophobia, or fear of heights, it was found that VERT is a relatively cheap and effective alternative to in vivo therapy. The patients who underwent VERT had comparable results and post treatment benefits.
Similar results were found when studying the treatment of fear of flying (FOF). VERT and in vivo exposure were essentially equivalent post treatment on standardized questionnaires, willingness to fly, anxiety ratings during the flight, self-ratings of improvement, and patient satisfaction with treatment.
A meta-analysis of current data available on VERT concluded that "VRET has potential for the treatment of anxiety and several specific phobias” and it can successfully reduce anxiety and phobia symptoms in patients.
Advantages of virtual reality therapy include cost, increased safety, control, confidentially, and, unlimited repetitions exposure to feared situations
VERT, as aforementioned, can be considered to be the best of both worlds because it offers a middle ground between the cost-effectiveness and safety of visualization and the life-like exposure off in vivo therapy.
For example, in vivo exposure therapy for phobias such as fear of flying can be expensive but VERT exposure therapy is comparatively cheaper than buying plane ticket every time an offers the patient a greater chance of or reimbursement from insurance as the sessions would be much shorter, making the total cost much more bearable for the patient.
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