Virtual Reality Therapy

The University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies developed a Virtual Reality program to treat service men and women suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Patients put on goggles and enter a “virtual Iraq.” The virtual experience is heightened by the addition of sound and smell. A trained psychologist adjusts the visual and aural stimuli depending on the patient’s reaction. The program was designed to help patients confront their traumatic memories rather than avoid them.

SoCal Connected's Web-Team interviewed Skip Rizzo, a research scientist for USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies. Rizzo helped develop the VR program to treat veterans of the War in Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from PTSD.

USC Insitute for Creative Technologies