Overcome Phobias, Fears and Other Conditions with Virtual Reality Counselling

Overcome Phobias, Fears and Other Conditions with Virtual Reality Counselling

Published On: May 25, 2017

Dealing with certain types of phobias can present major challenges for the person suffering from various conditions, such as:

• • • • Agoraphobia
      • Social Anxiety Disorder
      • Claustrophobia
      • Panic Disorder
      • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
      • Anxiety
      • Fear of Conditions (i.e. flying, heights, and so on)

In the past, counselling centers were limited in what types of therapy they could provide. Aside from in-office visits, the use of real life situations were often used to help the person overcome their condition and/or face their fears. However, the expense for exposure to actual real-life conditions could be rather costly, like if you had a fear of flying and had to purchase airline tickets.

Thankfully, there have been numerous advances in regards to virtual reality (VR) technologies over the past twenty years. As the technology has improved, so too, has been the ability of counselling clinics to start to incorporate VR counselling as an alternative to real life scenarios for overcoming fears and phobias. Here at Bayridge Counselling Centre, we offer the Psious Virtue Reality tool to help aid our clients in the treatment of their conditions.

With VR, any type of 3D environment can be created, with life-like resemblance to actual real world situations. As a result, there are numerous benefits to using VR to treat a variety of conditions using technology in place of actual environments.

• • 1. You and your counselor are in complete control. You are able to face your fear or phobia without leaving the office and can exit the simulation at any time.
    2. You can repeat experiences multiple times. If there are particular environments where you are having difficulties, you are able to work at them at your own pace.
    3. The costs for VR counselling is significantly less than actual real world experiences.
    4. There are no risks of public embarrassment. Since sessions are conducted in office, you never have to be concerned about how you are going to react to various stimuli.
    5. Your counselor is there to guide you and support you through the VR simulation. While your counselor will not be in the actual simulation, there are still with you every step of the way.
    6. Risks of possible personal physical and emotional harm are eliminated. If the simulated environment simply becomes too overwhelming you can stop it at any time.
    7. VR counselling ensures complete patient-therapist confidentiality.
    8. VR helps clients and counselors measure progress objectively.

In addition to the conditions listed above, VR therapy is starting to be adapted for other types of situations and counselling services, such as learning how to deal with high stress situations or conquering their fear of public speaking. Overall, VR helps people overcome their concerns in a non-threatening and controlled environment under the guidance of their counselor.

Many of our clients have started using VR therapies as part of the counselling sessions. If you would like to learn more about how VR counselling available here at Bayridge Counselling Centre, contact us at 905-319-1488 to schedule an initial consultation today!

For more information, visit us at any of our Counselling Centers in Burlington, Brampton, Hamilton, Grimsby, Mississauga, Muskoka, Oakville, St. Catharines and Kitchener/Waterloo.