February 09, 2007
Virtual Iraq, Real Treatment
According to a report in the LA Times, soldiers returning from Iraq with post-traumatic stress disorder are being treated through computerized virtual reality systems.
The sounds and images of war are being fed into a special helmet, goggles and earphones. The program was developed in part by gaming engineers and psychologists at USC and being tested, among other places, at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego.
Universities, private firms and the federal government are pouring millions of dollars into creating and testing such virtual Iraqs to help ease the psychological disorder that, according to a 2004 study by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, affects more than 15% of combat personnel returning from Iraq.
With a therapist's supervision, the virtual Iraqs are designed to vividly, yet safely, allow those veterans to confront war experiences in ways that go beyond traditional counseling and drug therapy. The computer programs, even with the somewhat cartoonish digital depictions of combat, seek to relieve trauma by repeatedly revisiting its origins.
Virtual reality treatment is still being explored as a viable treatment, however, according to the researchers, the early results are promising.