Fear of animals
and virtual reality
The treatment of choice for animal phobia is based on the use of exposure techniques, the success rate of which is around 90%. However, sometimes it can be difficult to carry out these sessions due to the difficulty of controlling insect reactions, creating specific situations, getting certain species, etc.
Furthermore, most patients refuse to perform live exposure tasks and may even drop out of treatment. It is precisely for this reason that Virtual Reality (VR) is a good alternative for the treatment of this phobia. This technology helps facilitate patient adherence to treatment and allow the healthcare professional to have control over different variables during exposure.
This is why the abundant research in this regard has confirmed the therapeutic efficacy of VR as a tool in the treatment of this type of phobias (García-Palacios et al, 2001), as well as the wide range of advantages that make it preferable to traditional techniques (Miloff et al, 2016).