Outline Genre Project – ZiXuan Wu

Video Essay: Can VR be used as a medication for mental disorders?

Intro: Virtual Reality has been used to create entertainment among those who decide to buy headsets. It brings you to a virtual world that gives a brand new experience from the regular mouse and keyboard we’re all used to, but rather gives us a new perspective to the screen we’re so used to. But does VR have to be used in a such a way that it’s only used in entertainment? Right now, people are innovating in ways to use this in the medical field as a therapeutic way, trying to help relieve the effects of PTSD and mental trauma.

Body: What is VR Therapy

VR Therapy is currently a way for veterans to recover from mental disorders such as PTSD and anxiety. Exposure Therapy is a similar procedure to VR Therapy because they do essentially the same thing, as in they expose the patient to the trauma they had experienced previously. The difference is that Exposure Therapy takes place in real life while VR Therapy takes place in the virtual world. Which isn’t to say that isn’t the only difference. Exposure Therapy is considerably more costly since you have to recreate the situation in real life whereas in VR Therapy you simply have to ask the technicians to simulate it in the virtual world. However, VR Therapy is less accessible due to a lack in clinics that utilize the VR system.

Body: Why should we use VR Therapy

VR Therapy is still undergoing tests and is only used by a few clinics. However, VR Therapy is still more cost effective than regular exposure therapy. Exposure therapy is the process of which a patient were to experience what caused their trauma in the first place to make them sort of “get used to it”. This however, costs a lot of resources to be able to recreate the same environment, where in VR you simply make it in the virtual environment. The only problem is VR Therapy does not have any improvement over what exposure therapy does, but this does not mean it’s not good. VR Therapy might just be part of the answer, and is already more cost effective, so if we can find a proper improvement, then it might be revolutionary.

Body: Should this be something given to the public

The main reason VR Therapy is not revealed to the public yet is because of the cost of equipment. Therefore, it’s only used by a few clinics and is mainly used to treat trauma from veterans, however is stated to be sometime in the future revealed for civilian trauma. Companies are also starting to invest into this VR technology, giving more options for clinics to advance into this area as well.

Outro: VR Therapy is not yet the correct answer, but it is part of the solution. If we can just find out a way to make it’s effects more evident, this technique might become more widespread. It’s already been proven to be more effective, and other people are also investing into this technology. I’m sure it can become better and this technique would be more invested into, to soon be usable for civilian traumas soon as well.