Virtual Reality Applications to Treat Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

This chapter will provide an overview of the application of virtual reality technology to the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We first discuss the current state of PTSD treatment and provide a brief review of the theoretical underpinnings of virtual reality enhanced exposure therapy (VRE). We then detail the various applications of VRE to date for the treatment of PTSD, including virtual environments for Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan veterans, survivors of motor vehicle accidents, and survivors of terrorist attacks in Israel and on the World Trade Center on September 11th. We conclude with a summary of the evidence and discussion of possible future directions for the field.