Virtual reality offers fresh alternatives for therapists
Virtual reality (VR) is offering therapists a new way of treating patients. Colorado psychologist Dr. Dawn Jewell used exposure therapy to treat a patient who was unable to drive past an intersection where they had been involved in a car crash. But rather than revisiting the site itself, they used a VR service from start-up Limbux, which offers therapy through Google headset Daydream View. The service uses Google Street View to offer exposure in a manner that makes "patients feel safe", said Dr. Jewell.

SAN FRANCISCO — Dawn Jewell recently treated a patient haunted by a car crash. The patient had developed acute anxiety over the cross streets where the crash occurred, unable to drive a route that carried so many painful memories.

So Dr. Jewell, a psychologist in Colorado, treated the patient through a technique called exposure therapy, providing emotional guidance as they revisited the intersection together.

But they did not physically return to the site. They revisited it through virtual reality.

Dr. Jewell is among a handful of psychologists testing a new service from a Silicon Valley start-up called Limbix that offers exposure therapy through Daydream View, the Google headset that works in tandem with a smartphone.

“It provides exposure in a way that patients feel safe,” she said. “We can go to a location together, and the patient can tell me what they’re feeling and what they’re thinking.”