Virtually conquering fear of flying

Traditional approaches to exposure therapy include imaginal (the patient imagines the stimulus) exposure and in vivo (the patient is exposed to the actual physical situation) exposure. Virtual reality exposure, in which the patient is exposed to a virtual environment containing the feared stimulus, has been shown in a controlled study to be an effective treatment approach for acrophobia (the fear of heights). To extend VR exposure to fear of flying, the authors designed a virtual airplane that the participant experiences by wearing a head-mounted display with stereo earphones. The participant receives both visual and auditory cues of actually being on an aircraft. The therapist can see and hear what the patient is experiencing on a TV monitor. There are several potential advantages in using virtual reality exposure as compared to in vivo exposure techniques.