Illumen Clinical Psychologist Kathryn Harvey on Virtual Reality and how it’s changing the game in psychology.
Nearly half a million New Zealander’s will experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives, which might include excessive worry, panic, obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours, or specific fears and phobias. It is well established that exposure-based therapies are an effective treatment method for these conditions, particularly those where avoidance is a strong feature.
The way exposure works is via ‘desensitisation’, where you gradually approach something you would normally avoid (eg, heights), in a gradual, step-wise way, so that you learn that in most reasonable situations, you’re safe. It’s usually done in one of two ways: either by imagery (eg, by just imagining being up the top of a tall building), or ‘real life’ exposure (actually taking the lift to the 100th floor).
Enter the world of virtual reality (VR), potentially a game-changer for psychology, opening the door to endless opportunities for exposure therapy. VR offers a huge advantage here – VR is not real, so people are more likely to try things they wouldn’t normally do in ‘real life’. But our brain and body tends to react in the same way as if we were actually doing that thing we feared.
We still don’t quite have the technology yet to offer a full VR experience in the therapy room, but with the emergence of a range of affordable and easily available headsets, virtual reality-type experiences are now being used more and more by psychologists to enhance existing therapies like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). In our work with clients who experience phobias, we’ve been using the Google Cardboard headset – literally a folded piece of cardboard you slide your smartphone into, and 360 degree videos, a viewing format which allows you to pan right around and view the environment as if you were actually there.
Meet Kate* (not her real name). Kate suffers from an extreme fear of flying. “It’s been a massive hindrance in my life.” She says she’s avoided flying for the past three years. After working through the exposure process in sessions, Kate was then able to take the headset home and view the 360-degree video in her own time in the weeks leading up to her flight. Kate recently took a flight, the first in a long time. “The VR work helped ease my anticipation of flying. I was able to take it in my stride a little more.”
I’m excited to see what happens with VR and how we can apply this technology in mental health, especially here in New Zealand. Research so far has focused mainly on anxiety disorders, with the results showing VR therapy to be an effective treatment method. VR therapies still need a trained therapist, but some say that future versions could be readily available as a self-help book. While I’m not thrilled about the possibility of dehumanising psychological therapy, it will be an interesting one to watch. The possibilities are unlimited and could transform mental health treatment. (Kathryn Harvey)
*Full consent was given from Kate, not her real name, to have her experiences shared in this piece.
Illumen Clinical, 412a, T: 09 973 5187, Richmond Road, www.illumen.nz
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11/2019