The Department of Defense has been investigating virtual worlds like Second Life for several years for a wide variety of uses ranging from battlefield simulation to system monitoring. Over at GlobalSecurity they have a short interview with clinical psychologist Greg Reger who is using virtual world to treat PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) in war veterans. The process is something like this:
When avatars come into the virtual space, Reger said, they land at a welcome center that offers information about different deployment-related difficulties and a map of activities available in the T2 virtual experience.
“The cornerstone of the experience is when they leave that area and go into an area that teaches about the causes of post-traumatic stress disorder,” Reger said. “They enter a space where they get into a Humvee and are taken through a computer-generated simulation that includes [intense fighting on an Afghan street and] an explosion.
“As this occurs,” he continued, “they receive audio instruction about what we think causes post-traumatic stress disorder, and this sets the stage for the rest of the experience.”
Users then take a simulated flight home, during which they watch a video about post-traumatic stress. They land at a shopping mall, where each store offers an activity that illustrates a symptom and how it may affect daily life.
They don’t provide any information or statistics about the effectiveness of the tool, but they do comment that many PTSD sufferers have difficulty getting out and socializing with other people in groups, so an online tool is perfect for reaching those individuals that would never visit a psychologist for treatment.
