The first medical publication on PubMed that used virtual reality was for phobias and this is the episode on that topic. I had a great conversation with a VR expert that has been treating patients with phobias using virtual reality for 20 years, Les Posen. I then talk about the current evidence for this type of VR therapy and some of the different ways it can be delivered. 

Outline 

Define a phobia

Categories of phobic disorders: Agoraphobia, Specific Phobias, Social Anxiety Disorder

1st line treatment: Exposure therapy via patient's imagination, real exposure (in vivo), virtual reality 

Other diseases that are treated with exposure therapy

Conversation with Les Posen

Past: Why Phobias were one of the first uses of the technology? 

Present: How does virtual reality stack up against in vivo exposure? 

Future: How can therapists do virtual reality therapy remotely and how can patients self administer therapy when needed? 

Links (use google podcast or anchor to click through these links)

Presence as the Defining Factor in a VR Application

Virtual reality graded exposure in the treatment of acrophobia: A case report

Review papers (the last one of the 4 was the one I talked about in the episode)

Recent Progress in Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Phobias: A Systematic Review

Using Virtual Technology for Fear of Medical Procedures: A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Virtual Reality-Based Interventions

Implementations of Virtual Reality for Anxiety-Related Disorders: Systematic Review

Inferiority or Even Superiority of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy in Phobias?—A Systematic Review and Quantitative Meta-Analysis on Randomized Controlled Trials Specifically Comparing the Efficacy of Virtual Reality Exposure to Gold Standard in vivo Exposure in Agoraphobia, Specific Phobia, and Social Phobia

Here are the automated studies I talked about (plus I found a third one after I made the episode) ->

Automated psychological therapy using immersive virtual reality for treatment of fear of heights: a single-blind, parallel-group, randomised controlled trial

Effectiveness of Self-guided App-Based Virtual Reality Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Acrophobia: A Randomized Clinical Trial

This last that I didnt talk about in the podcast episode is awesome! They actually tested the participants with a real tower for their fear of heights. 

Effectiveness of a stand-alone, smartphone-based virtual reality exposure app to reduce fear of heights in real-life: a randomized trial