title: The effectiveness of VR exposure therapy for PTSD in returning warfighters.
abstract: In the decade following the attack on the World Trade Center, over 2.3 million American military personnel were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Lengthy tours of duty and multiple re-deployments were characteristic of these operations. Research findings demonstrate that prolonged exposure to combat increases the risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The current study was a randomized controlled clinical trial designed to assess the effectiveness of a novel intervention to treat combat-related PTSD in returning Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) warfighters. A cognitive behavior treatment approach augmented with virtual reality exposure therapy (VRE) was developed, and administered for 10 treatment sessions over 5 weeks. Comparisons with a control group receiving minimal attention (MA) for 5 weeks revealed that the VRE group had significant reductions in the avoidance/numbing symptoms on the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS). The VRE group also had significant reductions in guilt at post-treatment compared to the control group.
authors.affiliation: U.S. Army Pacific Regional Medical Command, Honolulu, HI, USA. sarah.d.miyahira@us.army.mil
authors.forename: Sarah D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Miyahira
authors.forename: Raymond A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Folen
authors.forename: Hunter G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Hoffman
authors.forename: Azucena
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Garcia-Palacios
authors.forename: James L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Spira
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawasaki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D055826:Afghan Campaign 2001-; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007171:Implosive Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014584:User-Computer Interface