Pre-Conference Workshops

Workshop Chair: Stéphane Bouchard, PhD

MONDAY, June 6, 2005

Workshop #1:

Basic Issues about Virtual Reality and its Clinical Applications

Stéphane Bouchard, PhD & Évelyne Klinger, PhD candidate

Aim: This introduction workshop presents concepts that are essentials to understand if one is interested in using virtual reality in clinical applications, such as: what is virtual reality, what kind of equipment is involved, what is the feeling of presence, what is cybersickness and how to prevent it, how to get or create virtual environments, etc. Practical guidelines will be offered to conduct safer virtual immersions. It is highly recommended for people who are new to the field of virtual reality. These information will not be introduced in the more advanced workshops presented during the afternoon.

Virtual Reality and Pain Reduction

Hunter Hoffman, PhD, Brenda K. Wiederhold, PhD, MBA, Bertus Faber, PhD, Sam Sharar, MD, Gretchen Carrougher, RN, Sarah Miyahira, PhD, Dave Patterson, MD

Aim: One fascinating application of virtual reality is to control or reduce pain. The presenters will present the empirical evidences showing the potential of virtual reality to distract people from their acute pain. Studies presented will address a wide range of applications, from severe burn pain to dental procedures. The mechanisms leading to pain reduction and some potential moderating variables will be discussed. How to use virtual reality to reduce pain will be illustrated with practical examples.

Virtual Reality and the Treatment of Anxiety Disorders

Brenda K. Wiederhold, PhD, MBA, Stéphane Bouchard, PhD & Cristina Botella, PhD

Aim: The key therapeutic ingredient in the treatment of anxiety disorders is called exposure and it consists essentially in facing the feared situation. Exposure has been integrated in more sophisticated treatment packages that are now considered among the few really effective treatment of mental disorders such as specific phobias, social anxiety, post-traumatic stress-disorder or panic disorder with agoraphobia. Empirical studies are showing more and more convincingly that virtual reality can be used to conduct exposure. In addition to review the literature on this form of therapy, treatment packages will be presented and tips to conduct effective exposure will be provided.

Virtual Reality and the Treatment of Eating and body-image Disorders

Giuseppe Riva, PhD & Rosa-Maria Banos, PhD

Aim: The studies that have looked at the efficacy of using virtual reality in the treatment of eating disorders and body-image problems have shown its strong potential. This technology allows the therapist to immerse the patient in virtual environments where its body-image can be confronted and more adaptive eating behaviour can be practice. It is a strong adjunct to traditional therapy, where avoiding relapse is a serious problem that can hardly be solved without virtual reality. A few empirical studies will be described, followed by a detailed presentation of two different treatment protocols.

VR and Neurological Assessment/Rehabilitation

Albert “Skip” Rizzo, PhD & Tamar Weiss, PhD

Aim: Neuropsychological assessment usually suffers from ecological validity problems where tests being used rarely correspond to real-life situations. By reproducing physical reality in a standard and replicable fashion, virtual reality allows to assess neuropsychological disorders in ways that are now considered more clinically valid and probably more precise. Cognitive and physical rehabilitation can also benefit from ecologically valid virtual environments. But the advantages of offering more enticing rehabilitation exercises is a strong asset of this technology. The two presenters will survey the vast number of neuropsychological and rehab applications, along with their strengths and limitations. Interactions with the workshop leaders and audio-visual presentations will allow the audience to benefit from concrete clinical examples.