Virtual Reality (VR) therapy opens up exciting new treatment avenues for a variety of psychological and anxiety disorders. Using VR headgear, therapists can walk patients through a variety of modalities and experiences to address fears and behaviors in a way that would be impractical or impossible in real life. The Anxiety Treatment Center of Austin is excited to announce that we now offer Austin VR therapy with the aim of improving exposure therapies for anxiety disorders.
ATCA provides various forms of therapy to treat OCD, panic attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and phobias. Now, by incorporating Psious VR therapy, we are able to apply exposure therapy virtually to immerse our patients in realistic, in-depth scenarios to better prepare them to confront and overcome their fears.
Virtual reality is validated by over 20 years of psychological research and has been proven to complement traditional therapy in a number of ways. Historically, due to prohibitive cost and the lack of development for psychological applications, this technology was only available at medical centers and university research laboratories. Fortunately, Psious’ multidisciplinary team of psychologists, 3D artists, and engineers created this flexible platform for mental health practitioners, which makes Austin VR therapy feasible for patients at ATCA.
VR therapy is an appropriate, clinically-supported use for virtual reality gear.
“Even in the early days of virtual reality, researchers quickly recognized that the technology was a great fit for providing exposure therapy, in which patients are exposed to things they fear in a safe place,” the American Psychological Association writes (Weir, 2018).
The VR therapy at our center offers a number of different exposures to commonly experienced anxiety stressors, such as:
- Acrophobia
- Claustrophobia
- Eating disorders
- Fear of darkness
- Fear of dogs
- Fear of flying
- Fear of driving
- Fear of public speaking
- OCD
- Social anxiety
We are excited to offer this form of exposure therapy at no extra charge to help Austinites fight back against their anxieties. If VR therapy sounds like it may be a good fit for you, please contact us, or speak to your therapist.