Virtual Reality聽and other types of technology will play an important role in empowering patients during聽therapy, says Telesoftas.
The聽Lithuanian consulting and software engineering house has created The VR Inner Child Tool to help cure phobias.
Developed in collaboration with practising psychotherapists, the technology helps patients overcome acrophobia (the fear of heights)聽but can be adapted to other anxiety disorders, including a fear of open or closed spaces, public speaking and spiders.
Telesoftas CEO Algirdas Stonys says that the technology could be helpful for patients outside of therapy sessions.
鈥淭ools as such might be adapted to be used by the patients themselves,鈥� he told 老九品茶Cloud.
鈥淭reatments do not end with the session, they continue throughout the week where the patients need to work on the disorders themselves.
鈥淭hat is where VR and all types of gamified experiences tracked by the patients will play a very important role in the future.鈥�
The technology applies principles and elements of transactional analysis theory and focuses on the free inner child ego state.
According to the theory, contact with an inner child allows patients聽to address the root causes of their problems and regain control over their emotional responses.
For example, while trying to overcome a fear of heights the user might meet their child avatar in an elevator. As the child interacts with them, they聽are then presented with聽the view from the top of the One World Trade Centre in New York.
The child avatar helps the patient to overcome the fear little by little by distracting and interacting with them. The therapist can track the patient鈥檚 stress parameters live and adjust the actions of the avatar accordingly.
While the technology isn鈥檛 yet at a point where it鈥檚 affordable and accessible for everyone, it鈥檚 getting there, says Stonys.
鈥淔or now this VR demo tool is created for psychotherapists and when there is proof of its effectiveness in treatment, the demand will follow,鈥� he said.
鈥淚n the Netherlands VR treatment is already applied in psychotherapy thus it is just a matter of more years in clinical trials to get the idea widespread and funded.鈥�
The company鈥檚 CTO Vytautas Keme拧isas believes this type of therapy is 鈥榚xcellent鈥� as part of聽exposure therapy for phobia treatment and an important part of progress for mental health treatment.
鈥淲e鈥檙e a product engineering service company but we want to show what is possible when you employ technology to cure people,鈥� he said.
鈥淢ental health conversation in the IT industry has been gaining momentum for a while already.
鈥淪ince the beginning, the idea of creating a VR tool for mental health treatment has enchanted the whole team.
鈥淚t was something that really echoed with us, as we know the technology and we then knew there is a need.鈥�