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"In the last few years our research team at Stockholm University have used the device to treat nearly 100 spider phobic patients with virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) using the Itsy application, developed alongside VR-startup Mimerse. The real tears patients shed may be indication enough that the animated spiders and computer-generated world are helping them face their deepest fears. However, evidence shows large reductions in self-reported fear and avoidance around live spiders."

The Future of Virtual Reality Therapy for Phobias: Beyond Simple Exposures

"By removing real-world risks, VR can also make something frightening feel more manageable. For example, a person with a phobia may not be ready to confront it in reality. Interacting with a simulation in VR may help them gradually become accustomed to the object of their fear and learn it is not a threat.

In this way, VR may help bridge the gap between therapy and the real world."

VR therapy and its benefits for mental health

The Future of Therapy – VR and Biosensors

"Treatment is typically completed through graduated exposure, in which the fearful stimulus (a spider for example) is presented in steps [1].
The steps begin at an acceptable level of fear for the patient (this may begin by looking at a picture of a spider, or imagining a spider). The patient is provided with the time to relax around the fearful stimulus, and the fear will eventually subside. Escalating steps with increased exposure can ultimately lead to a more functional level of fear, in which the patient is no longer negatively affected to a level that impairs them.
For spider treatments, this will of course at some point require an actual spider. This might not be easy for the psychologist to reliably obtain, and for other phobias, the stimulus could be much more difficult to get hold of (a fear of flying for example could require going on a plane, potentially fun for the travel-loving psychologist, but not exactly cheap)."

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