(Press-News.org) New Rochelle, NY, March 25, 2014—Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common among military veterans and together with the often-related anxiety, depression, and psychological and emotional impairment can dramatically affect quality of life. A type of virtual reality (VR) treatment called Graded Exposure Therapy (GET) can improve PTSD symptoms and may also have a positive impact on these associated disorders, as described in an article in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking website.
VR-GET helps sufferers of PTSD face their trauma-related fears rather than avoid them by exposing them to simulated stress-inducing events in a controlled, virtual reality environment, monitoring their physiologic responses, and providing training to develop coping skills.
The article "Effect of Virtual Reality PTSD Treatment on Mood and Neurocognitive Outcomes" is coauthored by a team of specialists led by Robert McLay, Naval Medical Center, San Diego, CA, including Editor-in-Chief of Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking Brenda K. Wiederhold, PhD, MBA, BCB, BCN and colleagues from the Interactive Media Institute, Naval Center for Combat & Operational Stress Control, and Virtual Reality Medical Center, San Diego, and the U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery National Centers for PTSD, Honolulu, HI.
"Our results indicate improvement of PTSD with VR-GET based on three different measures: neuropsychological, self-report, and clinician-administered scales," says Dr. Wiederhold.
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About the Journal
Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking is a peer-reviewed journal published monthly online with Open Access options and in print that explores the psychological and social issues surrounding the Internet and interactive technologies, plus cybertherapy and rehabilitation. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking website.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Games for Health Journal, Telemedicine and e-Health, and Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.
Can virtual reality-based therapy help veterans overcome posttraumatic stress disorder?
2014-03-25
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