A University of Washington pschologist has turned to virtual reality to help people with phobias overcome their fears, reports the Chronicle of Higher Education ("Real Fear, Virtually Overcome" Oct. 15, p. A12).
The article describes SpiderWorld, a virtual reality environment created by cognitive psychologist Hunter Hoffman to help people with arachnaphobia overcome their fear of spiders. Wearing a VR helmet and gloves, users can "touch" spiders and chase them away. By confronting spiders in a 3D environment where the user is in control, some people suffering from arachnaphobia can conquer their fear of spiders after multiple VR sessions, says the article.
A related project developed by University of Washington researchers is SnowWorld, used to help psycholgically treat burn victims. Sitting in a tub of water while wearing VR goggles, patients have the sensation of flying through an arctic landscape. The article says SnowWorld has helped reduce levels of "reported pain" by as much as 50%, by affecting how burn victoms interpret incoming pain signals.
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