Treatment of spider phobia

The fear of spiders is widespread. Those affected suffer not only at the sight of a spider, but also every time they go to the cellar or when tidying up their living room. The mere possibility that an encounter might occur restricts their life quality. This scenario is exactly the controlled setting that sufferers need for successful treatment.

Description of the scenario

At the beginning the patient stands in a room and looks at a table and a chair. He/she can go there or teleport themselves by clicking on the controller. Once they get to the chair, they can sit down. At this point the therapist should help the patient to sit down on a real chair. In the scenario, the patient is now sitting in front of a virtual table.

The therapist can activate the following actions in this scenario:

• Make a spider appear
• Make the spider walk around
• Make the spider walk towards the patient
• Follow the patient’s hand
• Change the size of the spider as required
• Change the speed of the spider as required