Therapy

Our programs and prototypes don’t just focus on developing coping skills and strategies for upcoming situations. We also do extensive work in how to deal with emotional, cognitive and motor disorders that are the result of combat, disease or injury.

Most notably, we are leading an effort to put virtual reality worlds to use in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Exposure therapy, in which a patient – guided by a trained therapist – relives their trauma through a retelling of the experience, has become the accepted and standard treatment for PTSD.

Our researchers added to this therapy by leveraging ICT’s existing virtual scenes and applying them the treatment of PTSD. Now rather than imagining a particular scenario, a patient can experience it again in a virtual world under very safe and controlled conditions.

Initial results with the treatment of PTSD patients are encouraging and are providing useful insights on how best to train therapists as well.

We are continuing to explore the promise of virtual reality therapy for health and well-being. In addition to PTSD, other potential applications include traumatic brain injury, stroke, autism, ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease and chronic pain.