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.
Botella
Cristina
C
Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain.
Quero
Soledad
S
Baños
Rosa M
RM
Perpiñá
Conxa
C
García Palacios
Azucena
A
Riva
Giuseppe
G
D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D014584:User-Computer Interface