A Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy Application for Iraq War Military Personnel with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: From Training to Toy to Treatment

Abstract

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is reported to be caused by traumatic events that are outside the range of usual human experiences including (but not limited to) military combat, violent personal assault, being kidnapped or taken hostage and terrorist attacks. Initial data suggests that 1 out of 6 Iraq War veterans are exhibiting symptoms of depression, anxiety and PTSD. Virtual Reality (VR) exposure treatment has been used in previous treatments of PTSD patients with reports of positive outcomes. The aim of the current paper is to specify the rationale, design and development of a Virtual Iraq PTSD VR application that has been created from the virtual assets that were initially developed for a combat tactical training simulation, which then served as the inspiration for the X-Box game entitled Full Spectrum Warrior.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2006
Accession Number
AD1157735

Entities

People

  • Albert Rizzo
  • Brenda Wiederhold
  • Brian Mason
  • James Spira
  • Jarrell Pair
  • Ken Graap
  • Peter J. Mcnerney

Organizations

  • Naval Medical Center San Diego
  • University of Southern California

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Case Studies
  • Department Of Veterans Affairs
  • Diseases And Disorders
  • Health Care
  • Health Services
  • Iraqi-War
  • Medical Personnel
  • Mental Disorders
  • Mental Health
  • Military Personnel
  • Military Training
  • Psychiatry
  • Psychology
  • Psychotherapy
  • Simulations
  • Training
  • Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • Virtual Reality

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Military Training and Readiness Simulation
  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.
  • Psychological Intervention/Treatment for Stress, Anxiety, PTSD, and Related Emotional and Cognitive Health Symptoms.