Source Entry 2 – ZiXuan Wu

RAB Proposal

My research question is this: Can VR be used as a medication for mental health? I’m very interested in this topic because I find this idea very innovative and can create simulations that we otherwise cannot do in real life. VR can be a tool for entertainment but what about as a medical resource? VR has been used as a way to bring entertainment, but recently has been used to treat patients with PTSD. Can it be used to treat chronic pain patients? Does it even work? VR can give us a glimpse into how to treat mental disorders, from veterans of wars, to the millions of patients suffering from chronic pain. VR is being used to transport the patients to their most traumatic experience, and finally help them realize that moment is over. In this research, I intend to present the effects of VR and why it should be used as a medication. I will show why it is effective to combat PTSD.

Source Entry 2

Part 1 : MLA Citation

Tugend,Alina. “Meet Virtual Reality, Your New Physical Therapist” New York Times, September 29, 2021. New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/21/health/virtual-reality-therapy.html

Part 2: Summary

In the article, “Meet Virtual Reality, Your New Physical Therapist,” Alina Tugend first gives a description of a person, Michael Heinrich,  in an accident being rehabilitated for more than 2 months, and gives his experience of using VR therapy. Tugend explains how VR, which has long been used for gaming, has moved into the medical field for pain management and PTSD relief, and that researchers and therapists say it has “shown great promise for physical and occupational therapy”, Tugend says.  Tugend continues to explain VR’s effectiveness for rehabilitation after the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that the younger generation is more comfortable using such technology and that a reason for this is that “V.R. has this uncanny ability to kind of nudge the human brain in ways that other audiovisual media cannot”, Brennan N. Spiegel, a professor of medicine and director of health service research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center of Los Angeles,  says. Tugend continues and gives another example of VR therapy from Pamela Pleasants, who tried VR therapy after suffering an injured shoulder. The interview states that Pleasants found the programs geared to reduce stress was especially useful for her shoulder and mental health, and just after 4 months, her shoulder felt “tremendously better”. Tugend now  explains the industrial aspect of VR therapy, showcasing the costs of using such technology. She explains that a company, XRHealth, one of the few companies providing VR therapy, is working to get more insurance to cover the costs of VR therapy, with people having to pay 179$ a month without insurance. Matthew Stoudt, chief executive and founder of AppliedVR, which supports VR therapy, says “We have to be able to demonstrate that we can bring down the cost of care, not just add to the cost paradigm”. While research from University of South Alabama found that VR therapy in general is more effective that traditional programs, Stoudt questions, “Does it mean VR is better for everything? Of course not”. Danielle Levac,an assistant professor in the department of physical therapy, movement and rehabilitation sciences at Northeastern University, supports this, saying we have to “consider the downsides of a lack of one-on- one contact with therapists. While VR therapy does have potential, it is only part of the solution so far. 

Part 3: Rhetorical Analysis

The genre of “Meet Virtual Reality, Your New Physical Therapist” is a feature piece. The author, Alina Tugend, is credible because she is an award winning NYT columnist and author of the book “Better by Mistake: The unexpected benefits of Being Wrong”. Alina Tugend has an informative tone, giving examples of VR therapy and its effects on people for pain management. She uses logos by utilizing research from VR experts and therapists to establish VR’s effectiveness on people. She also uses ethos by mentioning companies working to expand VR therapy and experts on the medical field including Brennan M. Spiegel and Matthew Stoudt in order to gain trust from readers. The intended audience is for people who are in need of therapy for mental disorders, as well as for those skeptical about it. It also caters towards companies looking to expand into VR therapy by explaining its effectiveness and costs for larger companies. This source is credible because the New York Times is one of the most widely read newspapers in the U.S, and has won far more Pulitzer prizes than any other media company.

Part 4: Notable Quotes

“Virtual reality, long used for gaming, has, over the past several years, moved into the health field for such things as pain management and relieving post-traumatic stress disorder.” – Alina Tugend

“While older people — who are more likely to suffer from strokes, Parkinson’s or simply falls, that will require physical or occupational therapy — may seem less able or more hesitant to use such technology, Mr. Ferguson and others say that typically isn’t the case.” – Alina Tugend

“V.R. has this uncanny ability to kind of nudge the human brain in ways that other audiovisual media cannot,” – Brennan M. Spiegel

“Does it mean V.R. is better for everything? Of course not, and there’s a lot we still don’t know about V.R. rehab.” – Matt C. Howard

“Much of the research uses small samples with varying degrees of rigor, and more needs to be studied about how a patient’s activity in the virtual world translates into improved performance in the physical world” – Danielle Levac