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
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
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,