Vr Exposure Therapy

According to Gui Bin and Eun Cho (2015), more than 50% of stroke patients suffer from depression and exhibit many mental problems such as apathy, anxiety, with limited physical and recreational activities available to them. A study on the effect of VR on stroke patients was conducted with two forms of intervention, a well-known training method called MOTOmed and a virtual reality training program. They were separated into two groups, an ergometer training group and a virtual reality group. For a total of 8 weeks, the VRG group trained using an Xbox. Kinect Sport and skiing were used to help patients with limb movement and balancing, as participants gained the ability to explore and increase their autonomy by their own initiative. The results
on the physical aspects were positive, with the conclusion made that the upper extremity functions, gait, balance, and daily living moments improve with the aid of VR programs. (Gui bin & Eun cho, 2015) The impact of VR on psychological characteristics of stroke patients, like depression and relationships, were also compared to ergometer training. To examine the psychological impact, patients answered the Beck Depression Inventory [BDI] and the relationship change scale (RCS). BDI is an assessment tool for depression, with 21 questions, developed by Beck in 1961 and modified for use in Korea. The RCS tool has 25 questions, with a higher score displaying better interpersonal relationships for the test taker. The results were statistically significant, as both the VRG and ETG patients showed improvement in BDI and RCS scores. VRG was actually revealed to show more of a significant increase in BDI than the ETG. According to Gui Bin & Eun Cho, VRG is also beneficial to the elderly in general. Lee et al. reported that engaging in VR helped decrease depression amongst the elderly.
Another study was conducted on older women suffering from osteoarthritis, a condition that causes depression, decreased muscle strength and balance. “The more severe their depression is, the lower their quality of life is.” (Wi, Kang, & Jang, 2013) Using an Xbox 360’s Kinect sensors, a VR exercise game was created to test the theory of whether their depression could be relieved through such activities. The results corroborated with the expected results. As mentioned in the study by Wi et. al (2013) general physical therapy had no effect on their depression, but those who played the VR exercise game had mild improvement, and with more participants willing to engage due to VR’s enjoyable nature.
Virtual reality can be used as a form of exposure therapy for people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
With VR, situations can be controlled to create a perfect exposure for a patient, making it ideal for people with PTSD. “Often co-occurring with PTSD are problems related to depression, generalized anxiety, and impairment in neuropsychological functioning.” (McLay et al., 2014) In the study conducted by McLay et al. (2014), neuropsychological functioning was analyzed by computer tests, and changes in self reports of PTSD, anxiety, and depression were examined before and after VR graded exposure therapy (VR-GET). VR-GET treatment has been known to improve PTSD symptoms and this study concluded significant reductions in those PTSD and anxiety. However, changes in depression and other measures of neuropsychological functioning were not significant, hinting that its benefits may be narrowly focused. Though this is the case, there is a wide range of its effects on people and while it closes off one on venue, others may be further explored. As VR-GET is designed to allow for people to confront their fears and tolerate unpleasant memories in simulations, it could be used in a manner and approach different from PTSD by focusing on lowering depression. These simulated possibilities could give people with depression hope for the future, or help them experience alternate realities in which their depression doesn’t exist. As[M1] stated by McLay et al. (2014), with VR-GET
“...patients are trained to recognize and control excessive autonomic arousal and cognitive reactivity. This is intended to allow them to confront difficult memories, intrusive thoughts, and feelings more fully during therapy, and to be more fully engaged in their daily activities.”
There are multiple advantages to VR being used as a tool to help people improve their mental states.
According to Gui Bin & Eun cho, VR games used as an intervention method allows for immediate feedback about performance on a task. (2015) Participants are also more motivated to participate in treatment, due to VR’s recreational qualities. It is a cheaper, accessible way to treat depression in people who are disabled or unable to afford expensive therapy options. In addition to these positive advantages, the virtual reality training program is also convenient to those with physical disabilities. It can easily be implemented into our homes using gaming consoles such as Nintendo Wii and Sony Playstation, whereas training programs such as ETG have to be done in a hospital. The Xbox Kinect is very useful as well, allowing “...players [to] move their bodies in front of the game screen by and 48 of their joint positions and motions are tracked via the Kinect sensors.” (Gui Bin & Eun cho, 2015) VR has many useful applications, such as helping us to consistently and sensitively measure cognitive deficits in people with affective disorders. This was concluded in a study where depressed patients performed worse than healthy subjects on a novel spatial memory task. (Gould, Holmes, Fantie, Luckenbaugh, Pine, Gould, Burgess, Manji, & Zarate, 2007) In addition to decreasing depression, it can help with panic disorders, social phobias, PTSD, and more according to Opriş, Pintea,
García‐Palacios, Botella, Szamosközi & David (2012). Despite the inconclusive result of one study, there are positive results and many advantages of virtual reality in studies that show this is a field worthy of more research for the potential benefits.