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Case Reports
. 2008 Apr;21(2):209-13.
doi: 10.1002/jts.20331.

Virtual reality exposure therapy using a virtual Iraq: case report

Maryrose Gerardi  1 , Barbara Olasov Rothbaum, Kerry Ressler, Mary Heekin, Albert Rizzo
Affiliations
Case Reports

Virtual reality exposure therapy using a virtual Iraq: case report

Maryrose Gerardi et al. J Trauma Stress. 2008 Apr.

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been estimated to affect up to 18% of returning Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) veterans. Soldiers need to maintain constant vigilance to deal with unpredictable threats, and an unprecedented number of soldiers are surviving serious wounds. These risk factors are significant for development of PTSD; therefore, early and efficient intervention options must be identified and presented in a form acceptable to military personnel. This case report presents the results of treatment utilizing virtual reality exposure (VRE) therapy (virtual Iraq) to treat an OIF veteran with PTSD. Following brief VRE treatment, the veteran demonstrated improvement in PTSD symptoms as indicated by clinically and statistically significant changes in scores on the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS; Blake et al., 1990) and the PTSD Symptom Scale Self-Report (PSS-SR; Foa, Riggs, Dancu, & Rothbaum, 1993). These results indicate preliminary promise for this treatment.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure Statement: Dr. Rothbaum is a consultant to and owns equity in Virtually Better, Inc., which creates virtual environments; however, Virtually Better did not create the Virtual Iraq environment tested in this study. The terms of this arrangement have been reviewed and approved by Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology in accordance with their conflict of interest policies.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PTSD Symptom Scale-Self Report (PSS-SR) scores across sessions.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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