Silvia Fisas: "Virtual reality helps to control the therapy process"

As new technological resources are being developed, the world of mental health adapts to this progress, relying on the tools that appear in its path.

A clear example of this can be found in the virtual reality used in many psychotherapy sessions.. Her proposal consists of exposing the patient to very realistic situations that are generated in a virtual world modeled in three dimensions, so that, from these fictitious spaces, it is possible to work on managing emotions by controlling all the variables necessary.

The person we are interviewing today, the psychologist Silvia Fisas, is an expert in this type of therapy.. Here she will explain the keys to the use of virtual reality in the consultation.

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Interview with Silvia Fisas: using virtual reality in psychotherapy

Silvia Fisas is a psychologist with a practice in Palma, and part of her work consists of taking advantage of the potential of virtual reality when treating her patients. In this interview, he explains how this process works, and why this therapeutic resource is useful.

Technically, what is meant by virtual reality?

Virtual reality (from now on VR) is a technique based on 3D graphics that are projected with equipment that consists of glasses and headphones, as well as a sensor to measure biorhythms.

The helmet and headphones manage to isolate the person from external stimuli and transport them to a suitable and different environment, to from which the stimuli corresponding to the necessary therapeutic procedure are applied according to the characteristics specific.

What made you start to be interested in harnessing the potential of virtual reality in therapy?

Well, as we know, new technologies facilitate processes of all kinds. In psychotherapy, having VR helps the therapist to control the therapy process much more. It makes possible a customization according to the characteristics and needs of the person throughout the therapeutic intervention, in a simple, fast, non-invasive way and with the security of being in consultation.

As a psychologist, have you noticed that a part of the patients are suspicious of this type of technology, for the simple fact of not knowing it or not having used it before? Is it hard for you to get used to it?

The unknown can always create a bit of insecurity, but the truth is that in general everyone accepts it very well, at least to try it and then they love it. People easily get used to the process, and the session can be stopped at any time if necessary.

It is true that perhaps people who are less in contact with new technologies may be more reticent at first, but to do so, a first special session to explain the technique, sample the equipment, small tests, understand how it works, etc... which would be a first decision contact.

From there, before starting each session, the person is explained what is going to be done that day, for what purpose, and the basic operation is recalled in case there is any doubt.

At the end of each session, a brief report is delivered graphically explaining the improvements obtained in terms of the person's reactions.

What are the main psychological problems that you address through virtual reality sessions?

The truth is that VR is very useful for treating a lot of disorders and situations that people experience on a daily basis. Perhaps I could say that for me it is the queen of anxiety problems, from generalized anxiety like specific anxieties (social, exams, public speaking, etc.), as well as phobias, panic attacks, agoraphobia etc

But we must not forget that it is a tool that facilitates the work of the psychotherapist to address possible problems of people.

So, by modifying stimuli, times, scenes, VR can also be used for OCD, PTSD, attention disorders, eating disorders, pain management, and many others. Many studies over the last 25 years support obtaining better therapeutic results than with classical imagery therapies.

What advantages of this therapeutic resource would you highlight compared to similar interventions that do not use virtual reality?

If we don't use VR in psychotherapy, we only have 2 options left, exposure in imagination or exposure in vivo. The advantages of VR over these other 2 classic techniques are many. It enables a totally personalized design of the exposure hierarchies, graduating the different steps to follow at all times.

Regarding the greatest advantage of VR over imaginative exposure, it is important to highlight the avoidance of problems associated with imaginative difficulties of some people, as well as the capacity for description and detail of the therapist to help in the imagination of the scene or situation that you want to work on therapeutically.

Regarding the advantages of VR over live exposure, highlight greater privacy; lower cost; absolute control of the stimuli; being able to use settings that are difficult to access in real life (plane takeoffs and landings, storms, heights, medical procedures…); as well as creating situations beyond reality (recreating 10 takeoffs in a row, going up in an elevator without stopping for 5 minutes, etc.).

In addition, it facilitates self-training and over-learning, since we do not need to wait for something to happen. happen, but rather that the therapist can produce whenever necessary and as many times as necessary. need.

And very important to me, it is an activity in which the person takes an active role and participant, in this way you can encourage relearning and behavior modification that is the end goal.

How is it done so that the improvements obtained through virtual reality therapy are generalized to the daily life of patients?

This is one of the best parts, since practically nothing needs to be done to generalize the improvements obtained in consultation, because They have not been obtained artificially, in an environment different from the one the person then faces or in an imaginary way, but rather the The learning carried out has been carried out in the "feared" situation(s) or that create anxiety or discomfort in the person through the RV.

Therefore, the generalization of learned skills and their transfer to real life is much simpler, faster and almost automatic. When the person does it well in consultation with VR, he will do it well in real life, because the person was already doing it, even though it was through 3D glasses, his brain thought he was doing it. he did in the real situation, so when he encounters that situation again, he will simply continue to act as he did in consultation, with the skills and resources learned and without problem.