Overcoming phobias
Agnieszka Popławska, Jacek Lebiedź, Przemysław Bąbel · 2023
Virtual reality (VR) has gained significant prominence in various fields, including gaming, education, and marketing. This technology has also found applications in therapy, particularly in the treatment of phobias. This chapter provides a comprehensive review of therapeutic techniques used for different forms of phobias, with a focus on VR treatment. The authors define various types of phobias, including social phobias, and discuss treatment techniques derived from behavioral therapy, such as flooding, implosive therapy, and systematic desensitization. The effectiveness of VR treatment is examined, with specific emphasis on the cave automatic virtual environment (CAVE), a fully immersive VR experience. The Immersive 3D Visualization Lab at the Gdańsk University of Technology is highlighted as a unique facility offering a spherical walk simulator within the CAVE. Additionally, the chapter presents several VR applications developed as therapeutic tools for phobia treatment. By combining a literature review, technical descriptions, and practical discussions, the chapter underscores the potential of VR, particularly the CAVE, in enhancing the efficacy of phobia treatment. Future research is encouraged to design new therapeutic scenarios and applications and conduct experimental studies further to validate the promising outcomes of VR-based phobia treatment.