Military VR Treatment for PTSD: A Revolutionary Tool for Psychological Interventions
The VA Medical Center in North Las Vegas has Renewal Rooms where staff can use virtual reality immersion during breaks to reduce stress. On October 4th, 2022, VA Secretary Denis McDonough said, “This innovative idea is based on work VA is currently doing with Veterans. A majority of staff who have used the rooms report reduced work-related stress.”
A Novel Way Of Treating PTSD
BraveMind, a developer of virtual reality (VR) treatments for psychological disorders, has created an improvised explosive device attack scenario for patients to experience. This treatment is currently being used by trained therapists at more than 60 veterans’ hospitals, universities, and military centers.
Some of these treatments help veterans process past traumas, while others transport them to peaceful environments to provide a bit of peace. Jonathan Spier, deputy executive director of the Long Island State Veterans Home, has been working on virtual reality as a treatment for years. After trying the VR goggles, his oldest veteran, 106 years old, was “so excited.”
Spier was introduced to Chris Brickler, CEO of MyndVR, who had already collected an impressive library of audiovisual content featuring a wide array of virtual locations such as national parks, museums, and destinations worldwide. Brickler and Spier have been collaborating since they met. Brickler said that VR treatments “make it fun for them” and “it’s something they look forward to, so the outcomes are better.”
MyndVR has a big focus on elderly veterans. Thanks to a grant from the nonprofit charity Bowlers to Veterans Link, it will be bringing the technology to veterans’ homes across the country. The videos for elderly vets, such as those who served in Vietnam and Korea, are completely different from those who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead of VR depicting troops under attack, PTSD treatment for Vietnam veterans typically uses what Spier calls distraction, or reminiscent therapy.
The scenes are peaceful and soothing, such as being part of a safari on the Tanzanian savanna, a casual stroll through the Metropolitan Museum of Art, splashing the surf on a national shoreline, or hiking the Alps. These are all part of a massive library of videos collected by MyndVR, many of which came from National Geographic, PBS, renowned museums, and creators worldwide.
Skip Rizzo, director of Virtual Reality Medicine at the University of Southern California’s Institute of Advanced Technology, said that VR therapy has been identified as a “potentially revolutionary tool for psychological interventions.” VR treatments are being used to help treat autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and have quickly caught on in pain management circles.
The National Institutes of Health research library — PubMed — lists 781 studies looking into “VR as treatment.” It seems that the promise of VR extends to a range of patients beyond veterans, and the research is growing.
Virtual reality treatments are a revolutionary tool for psychological interventions, and have already been proven to help veterans process past traumas, transport them to peaceful environments, and provide relief from pain. With the help of MyndVR, elderly veterans can now access a massive library of videos featuring a wide array of virtual locations. The potential of VR treatments appears to be limitless, and the research is growing.