{"id":13799,"date":"2023-02-02T17:02:16","date_gmt":"2023-02-02T22:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/?p=13799"},"modified":"2023-02-02T17:02:17","modified_gmt":"2023-02-02T22:02:17","slug":"inside-the-effort-to-expand-virtual-reality-treatments-for-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/2023\/02\/02\/inside-the-effort-to-expand-virtual-reality-treatments-for-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Effort to Expand Virtual Reality Treatments for Mental Health"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Key summary<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The term \u201cvirtual reality\u201d had been coined less than a decade prior in 1987 by computer scientist Jaron Lanier\u2014although cinematographer Morton Heilig built the first immersive virtual experience, known as the “Sensorama,\u201d back in 1960. At the time of Rothbaum\u2019s study, the nascent technology was still primarily considered entertainment, and so the notion that it could have clinical utility was unexpected.Rothbaum and her collaborator, computer scientist Larry Hodges, were set on devising a virtual alternative to traditional exposure therapy, in which therapists help patients confront anxiety-inducing stimuli in real life or by simply visualizing triggers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Rothbaum, it typically takes about 20 years for technology to transition from academia to society. Computer scientists and medical professionals like Rothbaum must work together to create virtual scenarios that can be applied to clinical settings. Then, the researchers must test these reconstructions with patients, and demonstrate their efficacy and reproducibility in peer-reviewed journals. It\u2019s now been nearly 30 years since Rothbaum demonstrated that VR could be used to attenuate fear of heights, but, she says, \u201cI still don’t think it’s completely commonplace; I still think that there are some barriers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even once a VR treatment has been rigorously tested, it\u2019s often difficult to disseminate widely.one barrier to implementation is that VR is often used as an aid for therapists, rather than a standalone treatment, and there are too few skilled therapists to meet the high treatment demands. Many patients may also be unable to physically attend therapy sessions due to rigid work schedules or lack of transportation, and others are firmly against attending \u201ctraditional\u201d therapy altogether because they fear stigmatization. VR could break down those barriers to care and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Reference:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Magazine, S. (2022, May 6). Inside the effort to expand virtual reality treatments for mental health<\/em>. Smithsonian.com. Retrieved February 2, 2023, from https:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/science-nature\/inside-the-effort-to-expand-virtual-reality-treatments-for-mental-health-180979995\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Key summary The term \u201cvirtual reality\u201d had been coined less than a decade prior in 1987 by computer scientist Jaron Lanier\u2014although cinematographer Morton Heilig built the first immersive virtual experience, known as the “Sensorama,\u201d back in 1960. At the time of Rothbaum\u2019s study, the nascent technology was still primarily considered entertainment, and so the notion […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":97,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13799","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-science-tech-featured"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/97"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13799"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13801,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13799\/revisions\/13801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}