Face you Fears with the Help of Virtual Reality

Last night I read my son’s letter to Santa. He asked for a VR headset for gaming. Here in 2023, Virtual Reality has become popular enough in the world of gaming that 8 year olds are asking for it.

Did you know that is has been used in mental health therapy since the 1990’s? Well - it has.

Previously, the technology was expensive and only used by large healthcare systems. But now, individual providers can use it to improve the effectiveness mental health therapy for different issues. In my practice, I use it to help clients face fears like flying, needles, heights, elevators, small spaces, driving, and public speaking.

Exposure therapy really means going towards the thing that you are afraid of in a safe environment. The goal is to reduce fear and avoidance. The immersive experience used in Virtual Reality Therapy can be a great way to build your confidence in going towards both the situation that you fear and the discomfort associated with it. Typically, in exposure therapy, clients go towards the thing they fear over and over again until the fear decreases. Using Virtual Reality to do this is a great option for fears like flying where the in vivo (aka - real life) exposure of boarding an airplane, taking off, experiencing turbulence, etc. is incredibly time consuming and expensive to do on repeat.

The only things that are needed to experience the benefits of therapist-led Virtual Reality Therapy from the comfort of home are: a smartphone (to use the VR app), a computer, and a universal VR headset ($20-$40 depending on the brand). Kind of wild, but it feels like the future is here!