Computers are being used in many different ways by mental health professionals. One of the most creative techniques involves using virtual reality (VR) to simulate situations which a person is afraid of. This software can make it seem like you are high in the air, or that spiders are coming toward you.
This site at Georgia Tech University (in Atlanta) highlights some of the most innovative work. They claim to have performed the first study of this technique in 1995. This site includes a .gif file and an optional .mpeg file which demonstrate the technique of simulating height on a computer. Be careful. These animations may make you dizzy.
Others also claim to be the first. In one very early study, psychologist Ralph Lamson found a single session of virtual reality exposure to heights helpful in treating a phobia of heights. The Center for the use of Virtual Reality Technology in the Treatment of Psychological Disorders (at Clark Atlanta University) states that they did the first studies in this field, beginning in 1992 (although their publications seem to be dated primarily in the mid 1990s). Most of this work focused on phobias of heights, flying, and bridges. Who's on first? A 1996 article by Susan Margolis (no longer Online) credits the Clark team. Does it really matter?
Some innovative researchers at the University of Washington Medical Center are doing even more creative things with virtual reality. Exposure Therapy - Virtual Spiders describes the work of psychologist Albert Carlin and researchers from the Human Interface Technology Lab. At left Hunter Hoffman of the U. of Washington lab shows a virtual spider to a phobic patient. The monitor shows what the patient sees.
The lab is also using VR for treating burn pain. Another psychologist, Dave Patterson, Ph.D., has used hypnosis to treat severe burn pain for years. He is now collaborating with researchers to evaluate whether immersive virtual reality can help relieve this pain. The patient shown at right is so "immersed" in a VR environment that he does not notice the pain from his burn treatment.
Are these techniques ready for prime time? Not according to a HotWired article by Mark Pesce (no longer online - 11/98). Users reportedly suffer from "binocular dysphoria" (a problems in depth perception) after a VR session, and the VR equipment is somewhat cumbersome. Researchers acknowledge these problems and others. The team at U. of Washington provides an excellent overview of motion sickness and interface sickness at their site.
While the future is not quite here, VR holds a lot of promise for the treatment of some disorders. Researchers are hard at work applying the technology and working out the bugs. Any bets on who gets the bugs worked-out first?
