Publication – Treating Agoraphobia with Virtual Reality

Outline the paper

Ireland has one of the highest rates of mental health illnesses within Europe. These high rates of mental health illnesses can lead to more severe anxiety disorders such as agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is a type of anxiety disorder in which you fear and/or avoid places or situations that can cause panic. It could make you feel trapped and helpless. The purpose of this preliminary research study is to assess the potential benefits of virtual reality (VR) as an aid to assist the treatment of patients diagnosed with agoraphobia. A survey was created and sent to individuals who have been diagnosed and are currently undergoing treatment for agoraphobia. The responses have shown that participants feel VR would be a beneficial aid with treatment. Results show there is a demand for VR treatment for agoraphobia and this in turn can lead to future studies into VR therapy.

Who will it help?

This survey asked participants questions relating to potential areas of focus, what areas personally affect them, and what they would like to see in the VR scenarios to help them with their own challenges. The survey has shown that 76.47% of participants have some anxiety relating to transport. (A further survey can be conducted to analyse how many participants are affected by public and private transport.) 61.76% of participants have anxiety relating to crowded areas, i.e. supermarkets. These results have provided invaluable information that can be used to create a VR scenario that can benefit a range of individuals with different agoraphobia needs. The VR scenario can be used alongside professional treatment and, in theory, accelerate the treatment process in a safe environment.

What is the future of this research?

Further research would need to be conducted to help create more detailed scenarios focusing on these key issues. We would seek to develop further on these concepts in future works and present our results in this promising area of research.

Future development for the agoraphobia VR scenarios can continue within Unreal Engine 5 and be optimised for mobile use in the Oculus Quest 2. 3D models will be updated, and characters and animations will be added. A dialogue system will be implemented at a later date, this will include audio dialogue. Public transport will also be further evaluated. Once developed, a study can be conducted with medical professionals to compare VR scenario used alongside cognitive behavioural therapy, versus solely cognitive behavioural therapy treatment. The data gathered can then be compared and evaluated.

This agoraphobia research can lead to the adoption of VR exposure therapies by clinicians in medical settings allowing for more immersive and inclusive treatment in a safe environment for those suffering from the condition. In addition to this research the developed technology can be used in augmented reality and VR training situations such as public speaking, interview preparation, post covid social event climatisation, large manufacturing lines, clean rooms and more.

Publication Title: Investigation of the potential use of Virtual Reality for Agoraphobia exposure therapy
Authors: Sinéad Barnett, Ian Mills, Frances Cleary
Publication Date: 20^th April 2022
Name of Journal: IEEExplore
Link to publication: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9757534