Clinical psychologist and researcher, Dr. Skip Rizzzo, works on a new project of psychotherapy using virtual reality to help Ukrainians overcome post -traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). His work at the Institute of Creative Technologies of Southern California University in Los Angeles has been going on for several years.
The use of virtual reality to call memories that help people talk about their difficulties can be an important tool for maintaining existing psychotherapeutic techniques. Dr. Rizzzo believes that this approach can enhance the effectiveness of exposure therapy, which is already considered one of the most effective treatments for PTSD.
The method of exposition therapy is not new in psychotherapy and is based on the idea of a gradual collision with traumatic memories in order to overcome them. Dr. Rizso studies innovative exposition therapy using virtual reality, which can give patients the opportunity to feel in situations that cause stress and work with them under the guidance of a specialist.
The first experiment with a combination of virtual reality and exposition therapy took place in 1997 with the Virtual Vietnam project, and in 2005, Virtual Iraq was created. Dr. Rimzzo's research in this area may open up new opportunities for the treatment of PTSD and other mental disorders.
The battlefield that comes to life with the restored veterans' memory. Virtual Iraq has proved to be surprisingly effective in treating more than 70% of military with post -traumatic stress disorder, and now this method is used in more than 200 medical facilities working with veterans.
"In the beginning, many have perception that it is just a video game that will help cure post -traumatic stress disorder, but they quickly find out that despite the use of gaming technologies to create these worlds, it is an important form of therapy. The goal is to help a person to face complex emotional challenges, but in the case of a pattern.
In February 2022, Dr. Rizso learned the information about the beginning of Russia's invasion of Russia in Ukraine in February 2022 - as many other Americans - through the media. It was then, together with a group of Ukrainian psychologists, that they decided to create scripts that would reproduce the traumatic events of the Ukrainian-Russian war.
It demonstrates the first versions of virtual reality that mimic the events that took place at the beginning of the conflict in Gostomel. Even initially, these scenarios look extremely realistic. To overcome the injury, a person will have to take at least 10 sessions in this virtual world.
Ukrainian psychologists develop scenarios for the treatment of Ukrainian veterans, and the project management is carried out by the director of the Ukrainian Institute of Psychological Education and Consulting, Professor Olga Zaporozhets.
"We initially formed a working group of psychologists of our center in Kiev, who worked in this direction for several years and were very active during a large-scale conflict. I turned to them several times, asking what situations they consider the most traumatic, which events needed a special study. Zaporozhets.
These scenarios do not completely reproduce real events, but rather describe collective experience.
"For example, one of these situations that, perhaps, injures the most, is when a person witnesses bombardment. Such situations are difficult to survive. For civilians, it can be evacuated under anxiety. For someone it is a train when they were evacuated," the professor said.
Skip Rimzzo, using the experience of creating scripts for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, demonstrates what a ready -made Ukrainian scenario will look like: the patient should simultaneously talk about his impressions and heard when using therapy. At the same time, a psychotherapist can change the time of day, sound and real -time.
The project has aroused the interest of the Ministry of Veterans of Ukraine because they believe that a game element of therapy can attract veterans, especially young people, who are getting more and more.
"Unfortunately, we have not yet formed such a culture in Ukraine. In the last two years, the number of people seeking support has increased and more qualified psychotherapists have been, but there is a category of people who are difficult to cross this threshold. They are faced with Stigma," Oksana Sivak said.
On the initiative of Skipa, the university has passed the program code for free to Ukrainian developers who have already created three scenarios. However, there were difficulties in the development of development - there is not enough funds for further development.
"We have launched a donation site in the United States and raised about $ 11,000. It seems to me that we need about 400,000 to have a really high quality system suitable for Ukrainian users. I thought we would be able to gather more donations," Skip Riszzo explains.
Despite financial difficulties, Skip and his Ukrainian colleagues do not stop their work. Ukrainian psychologists, together with assistants and Skip Rimzzo, are already testing three virtual worlds. A month or two, they hope to begin treatment for Ukrainian patients.
