Videogames treat Iraq War veterans with PTSD

Intrepid Homoludens · 08-20-2005, 01:49 AM

What the soldier sees -- behind the wheel of a Humvee, racing down a desert road while dodging bombs, bullets and rocket-propelled grenades. Psychologist Skip Rizzo leads a veteran of the Iraq war through a virtual reality therapy session. "I like to look at this from training to toy to treatment," Rizzo says of the VR tool. A therapist can change the VR environment with the tap of a pen on a touch-sensitive screen.

Virtual Reality Therapy for Combat Stress | National Public Radio

Quote:

Day to Day, August 19, 2005 · A new, high-tech system designed to treat military veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder -- or PTSD -- may be familiar to fans of a squad-based combat video game.

Using components from the popular game Full Spectrum Warrior, psychologist Skip Rizzo and his colleagues have fashioned a "virtual" world that simulates the sources of combat stress.

The project is a joint venture between the Institute for Creative Technologies -- a cutting-edge research lab at the University of Southern California -- and the Office of Naval Research. The object is to help veterans come to terms with what they've experienced in places like Iraq and Afghanistan by immersing vets in the sights and sounds of those theaters of battle.

The soldier being treated wears VR goggles and headphones. Using a tablet-based interface, a therapist can activate or remove the sounds of gunshots or the sight of smoke, depending on a patient's reaction. The idea is to re-introduce the patients to the experiences that triggered the trauma, gradually, until the memory no longer incapacitates them.

Eventually, Rizzo believes the therapy will include other stimuli, such as vibrations to simulate the impact of bombs or rumbling of tanks, and even the smells of war -- the body odor, garbage and spices of urban combat, for example.

Early results from trials suggest virtual reality therapy is uniquely suited to a generation raised on video games. The gaming aspect of the treatment also helps to lessen the stigma associated with getting therapy.

I wonder how much press coverage this is getting compared to GTA: San Andreas.

SakSquash · 08-20-2005, 09:21 AM

Hey man, whatever works.

SoccerDude28 · 08-20-2005, 12:07 PM

Yup that's my therapy, a virtual game of San Andreas and a go at the hot coffee mod.

Intrepid Homoludens · 08-20-2005, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoccerDude28

Yup that's my therapy, a virtual game of San Andreas and a go at the hot coffee mod.

You're pathetic. I'd rather myself have REAL LIFE sex, or if not that, real life pr0n.

honeycomb · 08-20-2005, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

You're pathetic. I'd rather myself have REAL LIFE sex, or if not that, real life pr0n.

Gee, talk about treating the symptom and not the problem. Solution is get out of Iraq and indict the idiot responsible for the bloody mess.

Intrepid Homoludens · 08-20-2005, 06:40 PM

Oh my, that joke of mine went over your head, didn't it?

BenjaminBunny · 08-20-2005, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by honeycomb

Gee, talk about treating the symptom and not the problem. Solution is get out of Iraq and indict the idiot responsible for the bloody mess.

Ummmm...PTSD is a problem. And we're going to have to help returning boys and girls with it regardless of how soon the war ends.
The war itself and the political arena around it and PTSD are seperate issues. If the United States left Iraq tomorrow, we'd still have thousands of returning Americans with PTSD. The suicide rate as a result of PTSD is tremendously high.

Intrepid Homoludens · 08-20-2005, 06:58 PM

That's right, Spade. And that's not even counting the Vietnam vets, Gulf War vets, etc.

honeycomb · 08-20-2005, 09:36 PM

Cause and effect. It's a symptom, not The Problem. If war is a disease kill the cancer producing host in a stetson. No point just treating the effects.

SakSquash · 08-20-2005, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by honeycomb

Cause and effect. It's a symptom, not The Problem. If war is a disease kill the cancer producing host in a stetson. No point just treating the effects.

I-D-I-D-O-T-H

Get a free punch to your face!

honeycomb · 08-21-2005, 03:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by temporaryscars

I-D-I-D-O-T-H

Get a free punch to your face!

Add an enema to your cocoa dude. You're constipated at both ends.

squarejawhero · 08-21-2005, 04:15 AM

Nix the war argument fellas, it'll only end in tears.

The thread is about treatment, not about cause and effect.

SakSquash · 08-21-2005, 04:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by squarejawhero

Nix the war argument fellas, it'll only end in tears.

The thread is about treatment, not about cause and effect.

I didn't say anything!

It's no surprise though, they use this sort of treatment in hospitals on your average joe, so why not here as well?

BenjaminBunny · 08-21-2005, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by honeycomb

Cause and effect. It's a symptom, not The Problem. If war is a disease kill the cancer producing host in a stetson. No point just treating the effects.

Well I guess you can tell the families of GI's who have committed suicide as a direct result of PTSD that PTSD is only a symptom unworthy of serious scrutiny.

Intrepid Homoludens · 08-21-2005, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by honeycomb

Quote:

Originally Posted by temporaryscars

I-D-I-D-O-T-H

Get a free punch to your face!

Add an enema to your cocoa dude. You're constipated at both ends.

Hey, no getting personal, got it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by honeycomb

Cause and effect. It's a symptom, not The Problem. If war is a disease kill the cancer producing host in a stetson. No point just treating the effects.

You tell THAT to Dubbya Bush, not us. We ALREADY KNOW ALL THAT. Meahwhile we are more concerned here with helping our fellow American brothers and sisters deal with the damage already done to them by Bush's f#&k ups. THAT is the issue of this thread.

SakSquash · 08-21-2005, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

Hey, no getting personal, got it?

You tell THAT to Dubbya Bush, not us. We ALREADY KNOW ALL THAT. Meahwhile we are more concerned here with helping our fellow American brothers and sisters deal with the damage already done to them by Bush's f#&k ups. THAT is the issue of this thread.

I didn't say anything!!!

Intrepid Homoludens · 08-21-2005, 02:03 PM

Can you tell I'm being pre-emptive?

(((((tempsie)))))

SakSquash · 08-21-2005, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

Can you tell I'm being pre-emptive?

(((((tempsie)))))

Hahahah awwww, that's a good lil' mod. Good boy! Good boy! C'mere grrrrr awww.

Wormsie · 08-21-2005, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by temporaryscars

I didn't say anything!!!

And that "IDIOTH" meant...?

BenjaminBunny · 08-21-2005, 02:19 PM

I. Do. Infilitrate. Orion. T-Shirts. Ham.

Completly harmless imo.

08-20-2005, 09:21 AM	#2
SakSquash Banned User Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: New Paltz...for now... Posts: 6,177	Hey man, whatever works. Share Share this post on Twitter

08-20-2005, 12:07 PM	#3
SoccerDude28 Homer of Kittens Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: San Francisco, Bay Area Posts: 4,374	Yup that's my therapy, a virtual game of San Andreas and a go at the hot coffee mod. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ -------------------------------------------------- Games I am playing: Jeanne D'Ark (PSP) Firefox rules

08-20-2005, 06:40 PM	#6
Intrepid Homoludens merely human Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Chicago Posts: 22,309	Oh my, that joke of mine went over your head, didn't it? Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ platform: laptop, iPhone 3Gs \| gaming: x360, PS3, psp, iPhone, wii \| blog: a space alien \| book: the moral landscape: how science can determine human values by sam harris \| games: l.a.noire, portal 2, brink, dragon age 2, heavy rain \| sites: NPR, skeptoid, gaygamer \| music: ray lamontagne, adele, washed out, james blake \| twitter: a_space_alien

08-20-2005, 06:58 PM	#8
Intrepid Homoludens merely human Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Chicago Posts: 22,309	That's right, Spade. And that's not even counting the Vietnam vets, Gulf War vets, etc. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ platform: laptop, iPhone 3Gs \| gaming: x360, PS3, psp, iPhone, wii \| blog: a space alien \| book: the moral landscape: how science can determine human values by sam harris \| games: l.a.noire, portal 2, brink, dragon age 2, heavy rain \| sites: NPR, skeptoid, gaygamer \| music: ray lamontagne, adele, washed out, james blake \| twitter: a_space_alien

08-20-2005, 09:36 PM	#9
honeycomb Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 92	Cause and effect. It's a symptom, not The Problem. If war is a disease kill the cancer producing host in a stetson. No point just treating the effects. Share Share this post on Twitter

08-21-2005, 04:15 AM	#12
squarejawhero Epinionated. Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: London Posts: 5,841	Nix the war argument fellas, it'll only end in tears. The thread is about treatment, not about cause and effect. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Starter of Thread Must Die.

08-21-2005, 02:03 PM	#17
Intrepid Homoludens merely human Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Chicago Posts: 22,309	Can you tell I'm being pre-emptive? (((((tempsie))))) Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ platform: laptop, iPhone 3Gs \| gaming: x360, PS3, psp, iPhone, wii \| blog: a space alien \| book: the moral landscape: how science can determine human values by sam harris \| games: l.a.noire, portal 2, brink, dragon age 2, heavy rain \| sites: NPR, skeptoid, gaygamer \| music: ray lamontagne, adele, washed out, james blake \| twitter: a_space_alien

08-21-2005, 02:19 PM	#20
BenjaminBunny fire breathing Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: New England Posts: 514	I. Do. Infilitrate. Orion. T-Shirts. Ham. Completly harmless imo. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ ~Tranquility is beyond form, it cannot be grasped and held. It is beyond sound but perhaps within sound, yet it cannot be heard. It cannot be seen yet it lies in everything we see.~

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