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Virtual Reality for Psychological and Neurocognitive Interventions pp 85–102Cite as

Virtual Reality Applications to Treat Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

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Abstract

This chapter will provide an overview of the application of virtual reality technology to the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We first discuss the current state of PTSD treatment and provide a brief review of the theoretical underpinnings of virtual reality enhanced exposure therapy (VRE). We then detail the various applications of VRE to date for the treatment of PTSD, including virtual environments for Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan veterans, survivors of motor vehicle accidents, and survivors of terrorist attacks in Israel and on the World Trade Center on September 11th. We conclude with a summary of the evidence and discussion of possible future directions for the field.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian, New York, NY, USA

    Melissa Peskin, Judith Cukor, Megan Olden & JoAnn Difede

  2. City of Monrovia, Monrovia, CA, USA

    Brittany Mello

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  1. Melissa Peskin
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  2. Brittany Mello
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  3. Judith Cukor
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  4. Megan Olden
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  5. JoAnn Difede
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Correspondence to Melissa Peskin or JoAnn Difede .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Creative Technologies, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, CA, USA

    Albert “Skip” Rizzo

  2. Université du Québec en Outaouais, Gatineau, QC, Canada

    Stéphane Bouchard

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Peskin, M., Mello, B., Cukor, J., Olden, M., Difede, J. (2019). Virtual Reality Applications to Treat Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. In: Rizzo, A.“., Bouchard, S. (eds) Virtual Reality for Psychological and Neurocognitive Interventions. Virtual Reality Technologies for Health and Clinical Applications. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9482-3_4

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