Virtual reality exposure therapy places

1. Virtual reality exposure therapy places the client in a computer-generated world where they experience the various stimuli related to their phobia.
2. The client wears a After an intake session and skill building sessions to teach the patient how to control automatic responses to anxiety-provoking situations, the therapist and client collaborate to create a hierarchy of anxiety-inducing situations.
3. In careful, controlled stages, the client is exposed to these virtual experiences that elicit increasingly higher levels of anxiety.
4. Each stage can be repeated until the client is comfortable with the experience and satisfied with their response.
5. At every step, the therapist can see and hear what the client is experiencing in the virtual world.

1. If the level of anxiety becomes overwhelming, the client can return to a less stressful level of treatment, or simply remove the head-mounted display and exit the virtual world..