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were that motivating, yet still specifically targeted the cognitive or physical process that needed rehabilitation within a functionally relevant virtual reality context, we might be able to not only increase the amount of training required to effect positive change, but we might also be able to draw in digital generation patients into treatment who might not otherwise seek treatment. We later saw this happen with young digital generation service members (SMs) with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), who are at home with this technology, and are willing to participate in VR exposure therapy, after casting a blind eye to more traditional approaches that rely exclusively on talk therapy or effortful imaginal memory retrieval. It's not science fiction to them. It's engaging.
The use of VR technology offers unique capabilities for the treatment of a wide range of clinical conditions (Brain Injury, Stroke, PTSD, Autism, Phobias, Pain, ADHD, etc.). VR allows interactive, multi-sensory, immersive environments to be readily created that can be tailored to a patient’s needs. At the same time VR provides the ability for clinicians to control, document, and measure stimuli delivery and resulting patient responses, offering clinical assessment, treatment and research options that are not readily available via traditional methods.
This chapter will provide an introductory definition of the technology and provide some discussion about our efforts to apply VR as a tool for conducting exposure therapy for PTSD.
What is Virtual Reality?
The concept and definition of Virtual Reality has been subject to debate by scientists and clinicians over the years. VR has been very generally defined as a way for humans to visualize, manipulate, and interact with computers and extremely complex data. From
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