Innovative virtual reality exposure therapy shows promise for returning troops

TACOMA, WA —February 16, 2011— An article published in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Traumatic Stress is one of the first to provide evidence of the effectiveness of exposure therapy with active duty military service members suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The study shows that virtual reality exposure therapy resulted in significant reductions in PTSD symptoms after an average of seven treatment sessions. Additionally, 62 % of patients reported clinically meaningful, reliable change in PTSD symptoms.

During the treatment the soldier repeatedly revisits the memory, and through the use of their imagination they safely access emotions related to the original traumatic experience. Revisiting the memory while safely emotionally engaged, reduces anxiety, and allows the engagement process to be comfortably repeated. Lead author Dr. Greg Reger, "We know that lengthy military deployments in stressful environments with exposure to multiple, potentially traumatic events can lead to the desire to emotionally 'unplug.' By using multi-sensory virtual reality that can be customized in real time, the provider can help activate the memory with relevant sights, sounds, vibrations, even scents that resemble aspects of the event that is haunting them."

A clinical trial with Vietnam veterans and World Trade Center survivors has shown that virtual exposure therapy is an innovative and effective form of treatment. The current research extends those findings to the population of military service members returning from deployments to Iraq or Afghanistan with PTSD.

Reger, "It is possible that virtual reality exposure therapy would provide a more appealing treatment option to a young, technologically savvy generation of service members and veterans. In addition, it is possible that a treatment option like virtual reality exposure would be viewed by some service members as less stigmatizing than traditional treatment approaches. If accurate, virtual reality exposure therapy might provide us with the opportunity to treat service members and veterans who may not otherwise seek help."

This study will be published in a forthcoming issue of The Journal of Traumatic Stress. Members of the media may request a full-text version of this article by contacting scholarlynews@wiley.com.

Article: "Effectiveness of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Active Duty Soldiers in a Military Mental Health Clinic." Greg Reger, et. al. Journal of Traumatic Stress; Published Online: February 3, 2011 (DOI: 10.1002/jts.20574). Abstract: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jts.20574/abstract.

Dr. Greg Reger serving as the team leader and acting Chief of the Innovative Technology Applications at the National Center for Telehealth and Technology, a Department of Defense office which designs, pilots, and evaluates a range of innovative technologies to support psychological health. He was awarded the Outstanding Contribution to the Practice of Trauma Psychology award by the American Psychological Association, Division 56, in 2010.

The Journal of Traumatic Stress (JTS),, the official publication for the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, is an interdisciplinary forum for the publication of peer-reviewed original papers on biopsychosocial aspects of trauma. Papers focus on theoretical formulations, research, treatment, prevention education/training, and legal and policy concerns. Journal of Traumatic Stress serves as a primary reference for professionals who study and treat people exposed to highly stressful and traumatic events (directly or through their occupational roles), such as war, disaster, accident, violence or abuse (criminal or familial), hostage-taking, or life-threatening illness. The journal publishes original articles, brief reports, review papers, commentaries, and, from time to time, special issues devoted to a single topic.

Wiley-Blackwell is the international scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons, with strengths in every major academic and professional field and partnerships with many of the world's leading societies. Wiley-Blackwell publishes nearly 1,500+ peer-reviewed journals and 1,500+ new books annually in print and online, as well as databases, major reference works and laboratory protocols. For more information, please visit www.wileyblackwell.com or our new online platform, Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), one of the world's most extensive multidisciplinary collections of online resources, covering life, health, social and physical sciences, and humanities.