Virtual reality and psychotherapy.
Virtual Reality (VR) is a new technology consisting on a graphic environment in which the user, not only has the feeling of being physically present in a virtual world, but he/she can interact with it. The first VR workstations were designed for big companies in order to create environments that simulate certain situations to train professionals. However, at this moment a great expansion of this technology is taking place in several fields, including the area of health. Especially interesting for us is the use of VR as a therapeutic tool in the treatment of psychological disorders. Compared to the traditional treatments, VR has many advantages (e.g., it is a protected environment for the patient, he/she can re-experience many times the feared situation, etc.). There are already data on the effectiveness of this technology in the treatment of different psychological disorders; here anxiety disorders, eating disorders and sexual disorders are reviewed. Finally, this chapter ends with some words about the limitations of VR and future perspectives.
Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain.
Cristina
C
Botella
Soledad
S
Quero
Rosa M
RM
Baños
Conxa
C
Perpiñá
Azucena
A
García Palacios
Giuseppe
G
Riva
D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D014584:User-Computer Interface