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Conference Information: Info | Location | Workshops | Conference Organizers | Related Conference | Conference Committee | Keynote Speakers | Awards | Media | Products and Publications | For Corporations and Businesses | Cyberarium| |Presentations in pdf | Conference Pictures | Submission:General
Information | New this Year | Practical
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Feb. 20th, 2006: Deadline for abstract submission Interested in receiving continuing education (CE) credits We are excited to announce that IMI is approved by the American Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. IMI maintains responsibility for the program. By attending our entire 2006 CyberTherapy Conference from June 13th through June 15th 2006, you can earn 20 continuing education (CE) credits. We will also be offering workshop sessions in the morning and afternoon of June 12th, 2006. You can earn 3 credits for each workshop that you attend. Workshop participants are not required to attend the CyberTherapy Conference or visa versa. Note that the costs for the admission to the workshops are not included in the registration to the CyberTherapy Conference. Each workshop costs 75$ CAN (plus taxes) and you have to register in advance (see the details under "Registration" on this website). Disclaimer: To register to receive CE credits please just follow the instructions of the regular "registration" link found on this website. Note that you will be charged an additional one-time $45 CAN (regardless of how many workshops/symposia you attend) processing fee.
Pre-Conference Workshops Morning Workshop #1: Basic Issues about Virtual Reality and its Clinical Applications Evelyne Klinger, Eng, PhD & Sophie Côté, Ph.D. Aim: This introduction workshop presents on the one hand 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. On the other hand, participants to this introduction workshop will be able to try and test some VR interfaces such as HMD. Note: This workshop will be held in S. Bouchard's Lab ("CAVE"). Workshop #2: Virtual Reality and Pain Reduction Dave Thomas, PhD, & Jeffrey I. Gold, PhD 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. Workshop #3: VR and Neurological Assessment/Rehabilitation Albert "Skip" Rizzo, PhD & Maria Schultheis, PhD Aim: Neuropsychological assessment often suffers from problems with ecological validity where tests being used rarely predict performance in real-life situations. By reproducing physical reality in a standard and replicable fashion, virtual reality can be used to assess neuropsychological disorders in ways that are potentially more systematic and precise. Cognitive rehabilitation can also benefit from the enhancements in ecologically validity that virtual environments may support. As well, the integration of gaming features with VR rehabilitation exercises offers the potential to enhance motivation and produce better outcomes via improved adherence to clinical treatment. The two presenters will present an overview of the field of neuropsychological assessment and cognitive rehabilitation VR applications, and detail their strengths and limitations. Interactions with the workshop leaders and VR demonstrations will allow the audience to benefit from hands-on interaction with clinical applications. Afternoon Workshop #4: Virtual Reality and the Treatment of Anxiety Disorders Brenda K. Wiederhold, PhD, MBA, & Stéphane Bouchard, 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. Note: This workshop will be held in S. Bouchard's Lab ("CAVE"). Workshop #5: Virtual Reality and the Treatment of Eating Disorders & Addictions Giuseppe
Riva, PhD & Rosa-Maria Banos, PhD (Eating disorders) Aim: VR has a clinical potential in the treatment of eating disorders and body-image problems. The experiential approach of VR allows the therapist to immerse the patient in virtual environments where her body-image can be confronted and more adaptive eating behavior can be practiced. To detail this approach, a few empirical studies will be described, followed by the presentation of two different treatment protocols. In the area of addictive behaviors, immersive virtual reality applications have also been developed and utilized for the assessment of craving and physiological reactivity (cue reactivity) to overt and covert substance triggers. Leaders in the field of VR and addictions will present basic theories on cue reactivity and on the use of VR applications in nicotine, alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine dependence. Future research directions in treatment and neuroimaging, along with demonstrations of VR environments used in drug addiction research will be presented. Workshop #6: Virtual Reality and Motor Rehabilitation Tamar Weiss, PhD & Heidi Sveistrup, PhD (with Joyce Fung, PhD and Mindy Levin PhD) Aim: Physical and occupational therapists aim to enhance the functional ability of individuals with motor impairment as well as their capacity to participate in daily life activities. For many injuries and disabilities, the rehabilitation process is long and arduous, and therapists face the challenge of finding effective and motivating intervention tools that will facilitate this process. Virtual Reality-based rehabilitation appears to provide an answer to this challenge via its well-known assets including the opportunity for interactive learning, the ability to quantify clinical outcome measures and to provide safe and ecologically-valid environments. Virtual reality facilitates the provision of functional tasks that may be graded to meet specific therapeutic objectives and client capabilities. Although the advantages of Virtual Reality are becoming more widely recognized within the clinical community, the rehabilitation team faces a daunting challenge - to find a VR system that enables achievement of the goals stated above, is feasible to implement within a clinical setting and yet is affordable by the typical clinical facility. Moreover, it is desirable that the VR system will not excessively encumber the clients nor expose them to disturbing side effects. The objective of this workshop is to present the principles of VR-based therapy for motor rehabilitation in terms of a comparison to the achievement of therapeutic objectives via conventional intervention. Experimental results from the literature will be used to support the clinical applications of VR. |
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