AWECURE VR: A SOLUTION FOR PHOBIA DISORDER USING VIRTUAL REALITY THERAPY

Kainat  Hanif; Narmeen  Bawany; Kainat  Siddiq; Habiba Shareef; Maryam  Rizwan; Rida  Amir

Authors

Kainat Hanif Center for Computing Research, Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Jinnah University for Women, 5-C Nazimabad, Karachi, Pakistan.
Narmeen Bawany Center for Computing Research, Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Jinnah University for Women, 5-C Nazimabad, Karachi, Pakistan.
Kainat Siddiq Center for Computing Research, Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Jinnah University for Women, 5-C Nazimabad, Karachi, Pakistan.
Habiba Shareef Center for Computing Research, Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Jinnah University for Women, 5-C Nazimabad, Karachi, Pakistan.
Maryam Rizwan Center for Computing Research, Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Jinnah University for Women, 5-C Nazimabad, Karachi, Pakistan.
Rida Amir Center for Computing Research, Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Jinnah University for Women, 5-C Nazimabad, Karachi, Pakistan.

Keywords:

Virtual reality, cognitive behavioural therapy, exposure therapy, agyrophobia, glossophobia, virtual reality therapy, anxiety disorder

Abstract

The concept of virtual reality has become the pen and paper of our digital world and it is the lens through which we experience much of our world today. Virtual reality technologies are widely used to simulate interactive, multimodal, natural environment, and social interactions. This technology is not only limited to entertainment industry, but has also proven its potential in various fields including healthcare, education, engineering, etc. Apart from many applications of virtual reality in healthcare, researchers have explored its application in phobia treatment. The Virtual Reality Therapy (VRT) is a new therapeutic approach that can be effectively used to overcome many difficulties inherent in the traditional treatment of phobias. This paper presents the psychotherapy mobile application that is used to treat the phobic disorder using virtual reality environment. The proposed system - AweCureVR has been developed to treat two phobias: Agyrophobia (fear of crossing roads/bridges) and Glossophobia (fear of public speaking). The AweCureVR provides cognitive behaviour therapy, exposure therapy and system desensitization sessions for each phobia. Moreover, the application also tracks user’s progress regularly and generates reports for assessments. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the effectives and usability of the application. Results show that AweCureVR helped users effectively overcome their fear and they were highly comfortable using this application.

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