Virtual Reality as Support of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Social Anxiety Disorder

Abstract

The subject of this article is the use of virtual reality as part of cognitive-behavioural therapy for inhabitants of Zlin with social anxiety disorder. A high percentage of people suffer this disorder during their lives. However, not everyone is able to cope with the situation on their own and some have to seek professional help, which often takes several months or even years. Therefore, this research presents a method that could speed up therapy and also reduce the use of pharmaceuticals. The research works with a group of people who have undergone special tests to examine their social anxiety disorder and to gauge their ability to speak fluently and their reaction speed. The first half of the people then attend regular therapeutic sessions, while the second group attends therapeutic sessions that use virtual reality. This provides space for creating anxiety situations that can be worked with. Finally, all the people are then retested to determine the difference that has occurred during the therapy between the two groups, proving the effectiveness of the new method using virtual reality.