Internet-delivered multi-patient virtual reality exposure therapy system for the treatment of anxiety disorders

Motivation - The project is to reduce the therapist's workload in virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) for anxiety disorders and explore cognitive ergonomic factors in the design of an internet-delivered multi-patient treatment system. Research questions - The aim can be achieved by system improvement on both the patient side and the therapist side, which leads to two main research questions. First, how should a virtual environment be designed to reduce the therapist's workload and give a relative high presence to patients? Second, in what way should a usable internet-delivered VRET system be designed which can treat multiple patients simultaneously? Research approach - A case study of a VRET treatment system for social phobia is carried out to investigate the design of an internet-delivered VRET treatment system and its impact on the main actors, e.g. the patient and the therapist. © 2011 Authors