Treatment of earthquake-related posttraumatic symptoms with virtual reality

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.