Face Your Fears Head On

Are you afraid of flying? Avoid heights at all costs? Do spiders frighten you? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you could be a prime candidate for virtual reality therapy or telepsychotherapy–two of the biggest trends in psychology today.

Proving the therapeutic effectiveness of these methods and improving accessibility to them are two key goals of Dr. Stéphane Bouchard, Canada Research Chair in Clinical Cyberpsychology at Université du Quebec en Outaouais.

Virtual reality therapy allows patients to literally face their fears. By using software in a head-mounted display, patients are exposed to virtual 3D scenarios of the things that frighten them most.

“This is a very exciting field, but it’s not without its challenges,” says Bouchard.

“While the cost of hardware has decreased significantly, we still have the expense of developing advanced software that accurately simulates these scenarios.”

One clever way Bouchard and his team are addressing this issue is the use of 3D game editors.

“By erasing the existing game software, we’re able to create virtual environments from scratch–and the difference in price when compared to commercial software is quite dramatic.”

Telespychotherapy allows patients to interact with psychologists via computer, a method that has proven popular for those with panic disorders and fear of public places. But convincing some of the skeptics remains a challenge.

“It’s true that some psychologists feel telepsychotherapy is not an appropriate substitute for a traditional face-to-face relationship between patient and doctor,” says Bouchard, “but patients are quite receptive to the concept.”

While Bouchard is currently focused on treating anxiety disorders with virtual reality therapy and telepsychotherapy, he says “It’s only a matter of time before we tackle substance abuse and gambling addiction with this technology.”

You’ll find more information about research supported by the Canada Research Chairs Program at www.chairs.gc.ca.