People with agoraphobia will be offered virtual reality (VR) therapy on the NHS to help them overcome their fear of leaving the house.
The treatment, which involves the use of special headphones, allows patients to experience anxiety-provoking everyday situations, such as being in a coffee shop or supermarket, from the comfort of their own home.
Realistic 3D images appear in front of the user, giving them the feeling of really being there. And during the experience, a virtual therapist offers techniques that aim to help the patient overcome their difficulties.
Research has shown that exposure to these scenarios in a safe environment helps reduce anxiety, and NHS watchdogs have approved the landmark treatment for wider use by doctors.
Virtual reality (VR) therapy can help people with psychosis who are afraid to leave the house
While virtual reality has been used in healthcare for several decades, this is the first time that medical professionals have been able to demonstrate its health benefits.
Realistic 3D images appear in front of the user, giving the user the feeling of really being there (stock image)
Around two in 100 people in the UK suffer from panic disorder (the most extreme form of anxiety, characterized by panic attacks), while a third of sufferers also live with agoraphobia, an irrational fear of being in places. public. Patients associate their panic attacks with places or situations where they occurred and then avoid those situations.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approved virtual reality technology, called gameChange, following a major trial which showed it helps even those with severe forms of agoraphobia.
While virtual reality has been used in healthcare for several decades, this is the first time that medical professionals have been able to demonstrate its health benefits.
The study involved 346 patients with schizophrenia or psychotic symptoms who had reported difficulty going outside due to anxiety. Half were offered six sessions of gameChange therapy while the others received standard psychotherapy.
At the end of the treatment period, the VR group was significantly less anxious and distressed in social situations, and the results were similar when the patients were evaluated again after six months. Scientists say the approach allows patients to build confidence and ease their fears, helping them perform real-life tasks they had previously avoided.
GameChange was developed by Oxford University psychology professor Daniel Freeman, who said: “Virtual reality has extraordinary potential to help people overcome mental health problems, by helping people [learn] better ways of thinking, feeling and behaving. Simulations allow people to try things they would be wary of in real life. They will then be able to apply what they have learned in the real world.
“If you overcome something in virtual reality, you will overcome it in real life.”
Professor Freeman believes gameChange could effectively replace standard therapy. “Virtual reality has been used for almost 30 years to treat mental health problems, but it has always simply been an aid to the therapist,” he said.
While virtual reality simulations could put the patient in a scenario, guidance had to be provided by a trained psychologist. This meant that access to technological treatment was restricted.
Professor Freeman said: “There are too few trained therapists to meet the high demand, meaning too many people are left waiting for the right help.”
While virtual reality simulations could put the patient in a scenario, guidance had to be provided by a trained psychologist.
At the end of the treatment period, the VR group was significantly less anxious and distressed in social situations.
Around two in 100 people in the UK suffer from panic disorder, the most extreme form of anxiety, characterized by panic attacks (file image)
Because gameChange offers a virtual therapist, all patients need are the £300 headphones and instructions on how to use them. “This means millions more people could receive the best psychological treatments for agoraphobia,” Professor Freeman added.
The NICE approval also covered two other virtual reality therapies. Both treat agoraphobia and anxieties such as arachnophobia (fear of spiders) and claustrophobia (fear of small spaces).
If someone with agoraphobia is in a stressful situation, it will usually trigger a panic attack. Symptoms include a pounding or fast heartbeat, feeling faint, dizzy or lightheaded, sweating, shaking or shaking, and nausea.
Some patients experience chest or abdominal pain and struggle to breathe. This is the result of an abnormal and irrational fear response that causes an increase in certain hormones that trigger physical symptoms.
Often these abnormal or irrational fears take hold as a result of a traumatic event.
By addressing fear (through types of psychotherapy) and helping patients realize that there is no danger in everyday situations, the condition can be treated.
One patient revealed that before using gameChange, he had a hard time taking the bus to visit his father’s grave. “It was heartbreaking,” he said. “I was missing out on a lot of things. I couldn’t go out to see friends and family.
“The most important thing for me was visiting my father’s grave, because in my mind I couldn’t physically get on the bus to get there.”
However, virtual reality treatment has helped him feel more confident.
“GameChange therapy changed my life,” he said. ‘I was able to get on the bus and put flowers on my dad’s grave, spend a bit of time there and take the bus back. I have more confidence in myself and with others.’