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Virtual Reality Finding a Role in Treatment and Training

Paul D. Thacker

JAMA. 2003;290:2107-2112.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

One September day in 1999, as Stephanie Wall traveled down a Colorado highway to begin her freshman year at a university in Denver, her life took a dramatic detour. A passing car swerved into her lane, forcing her off the freeway. Her SUV rolled over, leaving Wall with severe injuries.

Some therapists are using virtual reality as a tool to treat phobias, such as a fear of driving, by providing a controlled simulation of anxiety-producing stimuli. As patients' anxiety decreases after exposure to low-intensity stimuli, they are gradually introduced to more challenging conditions. (Photo credit: The Virtual Reality Medical Center)

Two months later, upon release from the intensive care unit of a Denver hospital, she returned home to San Diego to begin the painful process of physical rehabilitation and multiple surgeries. Her body was on the way to recovery, but she was now terrified to drive.

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