Twenty-five years of research has demonstrated that exposure therapy is the most effective treatment for anxiety disorders, including social phobia and post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD). The core of this treatment entails coming into contact with the feared object, even or situation. The challenge for therapists is to be able to “engineer” that exposure so that the proper elements of the fear are presented. How does one arrange exposure to an airplane in bad weather? An auditorium full of disapproving listeners? A HUV explosion in Iraq? Virtual reality has become a valuable tool to allow exposure to occur in optimal fashion. In this presentation, Dr. Beidel will discuss how the UCF Anxiety Disorders Clinic is using virtual reality, in clinical research activities to develop more effective interventions for the treatment of anxiety disorders in adults and children.
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