Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRE) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an innovative and increasingly popular approach to delivering trauma-focused exposure therapy to a range of populations exposed to trauma. VRE is best viewed as another medium for prolonged exposure (PE), which is the most extensively researched treatment for PTSD and is one of the universally recommended psychotherapies in clinical practice guidelines. The unique application of VRE is imaginal exposure to the trauma memory conducted with the eyes open within a VR environment to help activate and sustain the memory sufficiently. Since its proof of concept over two decades ago, the availability and acceptability of VR technologies in the context of mental health treatment has greatly increased. This article describes the theory, evidence, and procedures of VRE. Clinicians interested in VRE are encouraged to pursue appropriate training and consultation.