Advances in Virtual Reality and Anxiety Disorders

The interactive computer-generated world of virtual reality has been successful in treating phobias and other anxiety-related conditions, in part because of its distinct advantages over traditional in vivo exposure. Yet many clinicians still think of VR technology as it was in the 1990s--bulky, costly, technically difficult--with little knowledge of its evolution toward more modern, practice-friendly treatment.

These updates, and their clinical usefulness, are the subject of Advances in Virtual Reality and Anxiety Disorders, a timely guidebook geared toward integrating up-to-date VR methods into everyday practice. Introductory material covers key virtual reality concepts, provides a brief history of VR as used in therapy for anxiety disorders, and explains the side effects, known as cybersickness, that affect a small percentage of clients. Chapters in the book's main section detail current techniques and review study findings for using VR in the treatment of:

• Claustrophobia.
• Panic disorder, agoraphobia, and driving phobia.
• Acrophobia and aviophobia.
• Arachnophobia.
• Social phobia.
• Generalized anxiety disorder and OCD.
• PTSD.
• Plus clinical guidelines for establishing a VR clinic.

An in-depth framework for effective (and cost-effective) therapeutic innovations for entrenched problems, Advances in Virtual Reality and Anxiety Disorders will find an engaged audience among psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and marriage and family therapists.