Combat Stressed? Virtual Reality Therapy May Help
From NPR's Day to Day program:
A new, high-tech system designed to treat military veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder -- or PTSD -- may be familiar to fans of a squad-based combat video game. Using components from the popular game Full Spectrum Warrior, psychologist Skip Rizzo and his colleagues have fashioned a "virtual" world that simulates the sources of combat stress. …
The soldier being treated wears VR goggles and headphones. Using a tablet-based interface, a therapist can activate or remove the sounds of gunshots or the sight of smoke, depending on a patient's reaction. The idea is to re-introduce the patients to the experiences that triggered the trauma, gradually, until the memory no longer incapacitates them.
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Virtual reality therapy aims to desensitize the combat veteran from traumatic experiences they may still carry around with them once home. Tailored to a generation used to playing video games, this novel form of therapy seems to lesson the stigma and fear associated with asking for help. A clip of this ‘video game’ therapy is at the NPR page.
Click on VIDEO: See What a Soldier Experiences in a Virtual PTSD Therapy Session. Go…
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2011: Jan