The use of virtual reality in acrophobia research and.pdfVIP

Journal of Anxiety Disorders 23 (2009) 563–574 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Anxiety Disorders Review The use of virtual reality in acrophobia research and treatment Carlos M. Coelho a,*, Allison M. Waters b, Trevor J. Hine b, Guy Wallis a,c a School of Human Movement Studies, University of Queensland, Level 5, Building 26, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia b Griffith Institute of Health and Medical Research and School of Psychology, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia c Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T Article history: Acrophobia, or fear of heights, is a widespread and debilitating anxiety disorder affecting perhaps 1 in 20 Received 11 August 2008 adults. Virtual reality (VR) technology has been used in the psychological treatment of acrophobia since Received in revised form 22 January 2009 1995, and has come to dominate the treatment of numerous anxiety disorders. It is now known that Accepted 29 January 2009 virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) regimens are highly effective for acrophobia treatment. This paper reviews current theoretical understanding of acrophobia as well as the evolution of its common Keywords: treatments from the traditional exposure therapies to the most recent virtually guided ones. In Acrophobia