Using VR to treat fear of heights

ACROPHOBIA – fear of heights – is one of the most common phobias, with around one in five people reporting having a fear of heights to some degree during their lifetime.

Despite this, many sufferers, even those profoundly affected by their phobia, do not receive any treatment or therapy.

But now, a new study has found that treatment in virtual reality (VR) can effectively help tackle this mental health disorder – and perhaps several others in the future.

The study, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, gave 44 out of 100 participants virtual reality treatment, which consisted of six 30-minute sessions over the course of two weeks.

Meanwhile, participants in a control group were given “usual care, which was typically no treatment”.

The participants who were given the VR treatment were guided through several tasks in VR with a virtual coach, such as having to walk across a platform over a large drop, or throwing balls over an edge of a drop.

All participants were asked to fill out questionnaires about their fear of heights before the treatment, after the treatment and again after four weeks.

While the participants in the control group reported hardly any change in their phobia, the VR treatment group all stated that their fear of heights had reduced, some significantly, with 34 participants no longer being rated as having a fear of heights.

The study also raises other, more general questions about the future of psychological treatments.

Dr Mark Hayward of the University of Sussex suggests that technological advancements such as VR may greatly improve treatment and care for patients with psychosis, and that it could also help increase access to care, especially for patients who do not want to talk to a therapist. – dpa