Virtual reality goes to war: a brief review of the future of military behavioral healthcare

J Clin Psychol Med Settings. 2011 Jun;18(2):176-87. doi: 10.1007/s10880-011-9247-2.

Abstract

Numerous reports indicate that the incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in returning OEF/OIF military personnel is creating a significant healthcare challenge. These findings have served to motivate research on how to better develop and disseminate evidence-based treatments for PTSD. Virtual Reality delivered exposure therapy for PTSD has been previously used with reports of positive outcomes. This article details how virtual reality applications are being designed and implemented across various points in the military deployment cycle to prevent, identify and treat combat-related PTSD in OIF/OEF Service Members and Veterans. The summarized projects in these areas have been developed at the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies, a U.S. Army University Affiliated Research Center, and this paper will detail efforts to use virtual reality to deliver exposure therapy, assess PTSD and cognitive function and provide stress resilience training prior to deployment.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Afghan Campaign 2001-*
  • Brain Concussion / diagnosis
  • Brain Concussion / psychology
  • Brain Concussion / therapy
  • Cognition Disorders / diagnosis
  • Cognition Disorders / psychology
  • Cognition Disorders / therapy
  • Combat Disorders / diagnosis
  • Combat Disorders / psychology
  • Combat Disorders / therapy*
  • Comorbidity
  • Evidence-Based Medicine
  • Female
  • Forecasting
  • Hospitals, Military
  • Hospitals, University
  • Humans
  • Implosive Therapy / methods*
  • Implosive Therapy / trends
  • Iraq War, 2003-2011*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Military Personnel / psychology*
  • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
  • Resilience, Psychological
  • Software Design
  • South Carolina
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / diagnosis
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / psychology
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / therapy*
  • Therapy, Computer-Assisted / methods*
  • Therapy, Computer-Assisted / trends
  • User-Computer Interface*
  • Veterans / psychology*
  • Young Adult