Two environments in 360 format that involve an elevator scene where several people wait for it to arrive so they can go inside.
“Waiting in front of the elevator door” This environment takes place in a fairly crowded market. In this simulation, the patient, along with a few people, are waiting for the elevator to arrive. Throughout the video, people are passing in front of the patient to continue on their way.
“Inside the elevator” In this environment , the patient is inside the elevator with 4 other people. Throughout the environment, the lift will stop at different floors.
The patient is located in the highest part of a skyscraper.Furthermore, thanks to the VRviewer and to the Amelia Virtual Care platform, the patient can look around a 360 degrees angle. Moreover, the healthcare professional can control exposure to anxiogenic interoceptive sensations.
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On the other hand, thereʼs the possibility of practicing a relaxation exercise in order to reduce the patientʼs anxiety and to teach him how to use these techniques and how to apply them in real life.
HOW TO APPLY COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL TECHNIQUES WITH AMELIA?
The virtual reality environments and especially the last two can be used for verbal and behavioral questioning of the negative thoughts of the patient.
The fact of being in the situation will facilitate the evocation of recurrent thoughts that it produces. Thus, the healthcare professional will be able to question them and the patient will internalize the procedure, which he will be able to apply more easily when in his real life he finds himself facing the feared situation. In the same way, the patient will be able to test the most feared consequences of the situation, previously discussed with the therapist, and verify that they are not being complied with.
For example, the healthcare professional has an acrophobic patient who believes that if his or her eyesight is clouded, he or she will probably faint, fall and eventually die. In this case, patient and healthcare professional can prove repeatedly in the virtual environment ( New York or Barcelona) that in spite of experiencing these sensations, they are controllable, and their predictions are erroneous and are not fulfilled.
Ferris Wheel with panoramic view. At the beginning of the environment, the Ferris Wheel will be focused from the outside. Then, the patient will get on it and the ride will start. There will be several shots of the panoramic city view.
The patient will find themselves already on a Ferris Wheel ride at an amusement park. In this case, it is not covered,which means a higher degree of exposure, so this situation will probably trigger more insecurity feelings. The Ferris Wheel will temporarily stop at a high point so the patient will be forced to look down.
In this scene, there’s an exterior elevator next to a skyscraper that leads, on the top floor and by a bridge, to a terrace. In these three locations, the patient will be able to perform a gradual exposition, while the healthcare professional controls different events which modify the difficulty of the session. As we have mentioned, this environment can be divided in three parts; in the first one, the patient is situated in the elevator, in the second one, in a walkway, and in the last one he will arrive at the top terrace of the building.
Before starting this session , the healthcare professional has the chance to choose the type of elevator and walkway by pressing the button swap elevator in the settings menu . The glass option includes a translucent elevator combinated with a covered walkway which leads to the terrace . The other option is called open platform and consists of a metal lift and bridge.
EVENTS
Break down This option will occur at fault. When the elevator is moving, pressing the button, the lift will come off a few meters sharply.
Floor Gives the possibility of raising or lowering the floor. There are five levels. It will begin by default in the lowest. The levels are as follows: 25, 50, 75, 100, Roof.
Position Gives the possibility of regulating the patient ‘s proximity to the railing, both of the elevator and the terrace. There are three degrees available: in the first one the patient will be placed in the farthest part of the railing, in the second, at an intermediate distance, and in the latter will be next to her.
Terrace The healthcare professional can lead the patient to the terrace (highest point of the building), which is accessed through a walkway.
Inside this environment, the patients will find themselves walking along the edge of a cliff. The cam will focus on the distance between the ground and the sea.