The Evidence Keeps Coming On The Value Of Some Tech In Helping Mental Illness!

This release appeared last week:MEDIA RELEASEWednesday 13th July , 2022Virtual Reality App shown to reduce common phobias through clinical trial in New Zealand.Results from a New Zealand University trial suggest fresh hope for the estimated one-in-twelve people worldwide suffering from a fear of flying, needles, heights, spiders and dogs.The trial, led by Associate Professor Cameron Lacey, from the Department of Psychological Medicine, at the University of Otago, studied phobia patients using a headset and a smartphone app treatment programme – a combination of Virtual Reality (VR) 360-degree video exposure therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).Participants downloaded a fully self-guided smartphone app called “oVRcome”, developed by New Zealand based tech entrepreneur Adam Hutchinson, aimed at treating patients with phobia and anxiety.  The app, paired with a VR headset, immerses participants in virtual environments so as to relax and distract technology to help people overcome anxiety disorders and social anxiety through VR exposure therapy. Anxiety and phobias include heights, spiders, flying, dogs and dogsThe results from the trial, just published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry,https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00048674221110779showed a 75 per cent reduction in phobia symptoms after six weeks of the treatment programme.  “The improvements they reported suggests there’s great potential for the use of VR and m...
Source: Australian Health Information Technology - Category: Information Technology Authors: Source Type: blogs