THE HEADSET MINDSET: Facing Your Fears with VR Therapy

When most people think of VR, they think of entertainment, conjuring the agenda of a futuristic Friday night replete with next-level video games, lifelike 3D cinema or an “immersive” concert experience from the comfort of home. There’s another use of VR that won’t spring immediately to mind, but might change your mind for the better: its application in therapy. As science-based clinicians, we’re always interested in innovation, especially when it happens to be fun. Enter the world of VR with Therapy Lab.

FIRST, LET’S PAINT THE PICTURE.

Let’s say you’re a 30-year-old guy going about your life in Los Angeles. You’re driving to Santa Monica from Silverlake when your car is rear-ended suddenly on the 10. You’re shocked and scared as cars continue to fly by you in the middle lane. You’re not hurt, but you decide to avoid driving on the freeway for a little while.

You feel okay driving on surface streets, and you notice a sense of relief that you’re able to avoid the freeway. While this is a fine transition in the short-term, you realize that you’re developing a real aversion. You’re take circuitous routes and spending double or triple the time getting to where you need to be. Your freeway phobia is taking up too much headspace—you can’t think.

You’re annoyed and stuck. You don’t know what to do about this situation, which you guess is a mental health thing. Therapy might help, but you don’t have the time for it, based on what you’ve heard. You’re busy and this is not the right moment – will it ever be? – to commit to a process that can be unfocused and open-ended.

What you don’t know is that some therapists offer treatments specifically tailored to your problem, and the process can be timely and efficient. Rooted in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), Therapy Lab uses VR as one of our tools to help you confront your fears. It doesn’t work for every situation (for example, more complicated trauma usually requires more in-depth, long-term therapy), but this high-tech form of exposure therapy can be a good option for many.

BUT HOW DO I WORK THIS THING?

Therapy Lab’s VR-enhanced exposure therapy goes like this:

We send you a VR attachment for your phone, which is simple to use and works seamlessly into teletherapy work.

You meet with your therapist through our secure video system, decide on your goal, and review your current behaviors. For example, I want to drive on the freeway again and focus on other things.

We create on a “hierarchy” of baby steps towards the desired outcome.  For example, we’d start with imagining yourself on the freeway, and end with an effortless hourlong freeway drive in heavy traffic.

To enhance your exposure therapy (a well-established, science-based intervention in CBT), we’d add steps that are experienced through VR to make the process both fun and effective.  

Why does it work? When you see the “scary” thing through VR, the visual cues create all the panic symptoms – like sweating, shallow breathing, shakiness. When exposed to that for about 20 minutes in session, those responses gradually subside, and you feel relieved. And so it begins. We can then heighten the intensity of the VR content in the next session as we climb the hierarchy of steps.  Once you view the VR content without a panic response, then you’re ready to head out to the actual freeway – eyes open, no headset, of course.

GETTING BACK TO REALITY.

So, you’re that guy who’s been avoiding freeways, and you’ve been at Therapy Lab for 8 weeks now.  It’s been convenient and efficient and you’re ready to go.  You have more mental space and you notice that taking on the freeway challenge has made you feel more confident and relaxed in other ways.  

You realize a few things: 1) You are not your fear; 2) CBT therapy can be surprisingly fun; 3) It takes you way less time to get to the grocery store.

If you or someone you know might benefit from a science-based approach to therapy, please click here to arrange a FREE consultation with a Care Coordinator.