Treating Aviophobia with Virtual Reality
Various attempts has been made to treat aviophobia/fear of flight by a number of companies like SAS, Flytryg and Farimag. These companies all have in common that they treat fear of flight with exposure therapy as it has proved to be most effective. However, treating patients with aviophobia with exposure required them to be located on an airplane, which in most cases can be rather expensive.
February 2018 - June 2018
ITU Airlab post: https://airlab.itu.dk/flightfun/
Kulturnat 2019 at ITU
In a group of students at the IT University of Copenhagen (ITU) we constructed a Virtual Reality (VR) simulation as a tool for therapists to use with their patients. The simulations sets itself apart from other VR applications of its kind by allowing the therapist to speak directly with the paitent while they are undergoing treatment - wearing the headset. The patient needs not remove the VR headset, which would otherwise break the illusion of being on a plane. As such, the treatment takes place during the frightening situation, and the therapist can calm and explain, for instance, why the plane makes a specific noise or whether the turbulence is actually something to worry about (hint: It's not!).
The application uses a motion platform. When the plane takes off or when the turbulence sequence begins, the set the patient is on, mirrors the VR application movement. With limited budget and time, we achieved this effect by simply utilizing an office chair and a set of hands. Lastly, by using VR, we could project the patient's point of view on a larger flat screen. This allows for the possibility of group therapy, which has also proven useful in treating phobias.
