BusWorld: Designing a virtual environment for post-traumatic stress disorder in Israel: A protocol

Naomi Josman, Eli Somer, Ayelet Reisberg, Patrice L. Weiss, Azucena Garcia-Palacios, Hunter Hoffman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A number of carefully controlled studies have documented the effectiveness of traditional imaginal exposure for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Virtual reality (VR) exposure therapy is based on a similar logic but rather than self-generating imagery, patients wear a VR helmet and go into a three-dimensional (3-D) computer generated virtual world to help them gain access to their memory of the traumatic event. Recent preliminary research has shown that some patients who fail to respond to traditional therapy benefit from virtual reality exposure therapy, presumably because VR helps the patient become emotionally engaged while recollecting/recounting/re-interpreting/ emotionally processing what happened during the traumatic event. The present paper presents a brief overview of a new VR World we developed to provide virtual reality therapy for terrorist bus bombing victims in Israel, and a brief description of our research protocol and measures (for details, see www. vrpain.com).

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)241-244
Number of pages4
JournalCyberpsychology and Behavior
Volume9
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2006

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Communication
  • Applied Psychology
  • Human-Computer Interaction

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