Treatment of earthquake-related posttraumatic symptoms with virtual reality

Type of content
Conference Contributions - Other
Publisher's DOI/URI
Thesis discipline
Degree name
Publisher
University of Canterbury. Human Interface Technology Laboratory
University of Canterbury. Psychology
University of Canterbury. School of Health Sciences
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Language
Date
2012
Authors
Dünser, A.
Carter, J.
Dorahy, M.
Britt, E.
Abstract

After major earthquakes, many people suffer from posttraumatic symptoms (PTS) as well as anxiety and distress about ongoing aftershocks. Traditional treatments such as in vivo or imaginal exposure may be of limited applicability for earthquake-related symptoms while others such as cognitive behavioural therapy may not be short enough to deal with the many people needing rapid help after mass disasters. This project aims to examine how virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) can help people to reduce PTS and strengthen resilience against traumatic stressors. VRET systems are cost-effective, relatively easy to deploy and enable short, focused interventions.

Description
Citation
Dünser, A., Carter, J., Dorahy, M., Britt, E. (2012) Treatment of earthquake-related posttraumatic symptoms with virtual reality. Brussels, Belgium: 17th Annual CyberPsychology and CyberTherapy Conference, 25-28 Sep 2012.
Keywords
earthquake, PTSD, resilience, virtual reality, haptic feedback
Ngā upoko tukutuku/Māori subject headings
ANZSRC fields of research
Field of Research::17 - Psychology and Cognitive Sciences::1701 - Psychology::170106 - Health, Clinical and Counselling Psychology
Field of Research::16 - Studies in Human Society::1607 - Social Work::160702 - Counselling, Welfare and Community Services
Field of Research::08 - Information and Computing Sciences::0801 - Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing::080111 - Virtual Reality and Related Simulation
Field of Research::04 - Earth Sciences::0403 - Geology::040313 - Tectonics
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