Short-Term Therapy

with elements of Virtual Reality (VR)

Virtual reality (VR) has become an increasingly popular tool for treating anxiety and attention disorders. By providing a safe and immersive environment, VR therapy can help children and adults confront their anxieties in a controlled setting. VR-based therapy can also be used to improve focus, attention, and cognitive functioning in those with attention-related difficulties.

The short-term nature of VR therapy makes it an ideal solution for those seeking quick relief from their symptoms. It also allows therapists to tailor the experience to the individual patient’s needs.

Imagine diving into a virtual world where you can relax on a serene beach, explore a magical forest, or venture into outer space! With virtual reality, anyone can take a break from the stresses of everyday life and enjoy a calming and immersive experience like never before.
Studies have shown that using VR-based therapy helps reduce stress, promote relaxation, and improve attention, cognitive processing, and executive functioning. Just like using imagination to create stories and adventures in the mind, VR allows one to explore new worlds and create one's own peaceful retreats.

It's time to discover the incredible benefits of VR-based therapy and unlock a world of psychological relief and fun!

Short-Term Anxiety Therapy (STANT)

STANT consists of 10 sessions. Each session is one hour long and will be conducted once a week at AFG Guidance Center in Northfield.

STANT is recommended for children, adolescents, and adults who are exhibiting some of the following symptoms:

Excessive Worrying about current or future events.
Fearfulness to events or things (such as social situations, animals, dark, or others).
Physical symptoms (such as headaches, nausea, tense muscles, sweating, and trouble falling asleep).
Avoidant behaviors (such as avoidance of school, social gatherings, or other activities).
Increased irritability and a lack of focus causing difficulty carrying out daily tasks.
An abrupt, intense bout of anxiety or discomfort that may be accompanied by shaking, sweating, and shortness of breath.

STANT includes elements of Virtual Reality-based therapy along with other therapeutic activities and tasks. There is mounting evidence that VR-based therapy is an effective treatment for easing anxiety symptoms. Some such studies are:

Riches S. et al, (2023) anxiety or stress-related conditions. All studies used a range of nature-based virtual environments, such as forests, islands, mountains, lakes, waterfalls, and most commonly, beaches to promote relaxation. Studies provided evidence of the feasibility and effectiveness of VR relaxation to increase relaxation and reduce stress.

Chris N.W. Geraets et al. (2021) review advances in VR-based therapies for mental disorders. VR-based therapy has been identified as a revolutionary tool for psychological interventions. The most mature field concerns VR-based interventions that focus on anxiety disorders. This review shows that VR has the potential to make mental health treatments better and more cost-effective and to make them available to a larger group of patients.

A systematic review by Freeman et al. (2017) on immersive VR applications for mental health identified 127 intervention studies conducted on people with anxiety disorders. The review shows that VR treatment efficacy in the conducted meta-analyses was large, with evidence that the beneficial effects transfer to the real world. When long-term follow-ups have been included, treatment effects for these short-term therapies have strikingly been shown to persist over a number of years

This Short-Term Anxiety Therapy (STANT) will be conducted by the AFG Neurobehavioral Therapy Group.

Contact Dr. Elena Labkovsky at elabkovsky@afgfamily.com to schedule STANT sessions.

Short-Term Attention Therapy (STAT)

This short-term attention therapy consists of 10 sessions. Each session is one hour long and will be conducted once a week at AFG Guidance Center in Northfield.

STAT is recommended for children, adolescents, and adults who are exhibiting some of the following symptoms of inattention:

Lack of attention to detail or tendency to make careless mistakes
Difficulty staying focused on tasks or play
Hard time listening when spoken to.
Difficulty following through on instructions, and difficulty finishing schoolwork or chores.
Trouble organizing tasks and activities
Avoiding or disliking tasks that require focused mental effort (such as homework)
Tendency to lose things
Being easily distracted
Forgetting to do some daily activities (such as doing chores).

Also, elements of hyperactivity may be present, such as:

Fidgety, playing with own hands or feet or squirming in the seat
Having difficulty staying seated in the classroom or in other situations
Being on the go, in constant motion
Running around or climbing in situations when it's not expected
Having trouble playing or doing an activity quietly
Excessive talkativeness
Blurting out answers
Interrupting others and difficulty waiting for a turn
Intruding in others' conversations, games, or activities

STAT includes elements of Virtual Reality-based therapy along with other Attention Therapy tasks. Virtual reality has been lately increasingly used as a tool for attention training. A growing number of studies demonstrate the value of VR-based attention therapy. Some examples include:

Gao et al. (2021) in a meta-analysis of 15 studies on VR-based attention training revealed that it significantly enhanced attentional performance in both healthy people and people with attention deficit disorders.

Liang’s et al. (2018) randomized controlled experiment demonstrated that VR-based attention training significantly improved attention and working memory in children with ADHD.

A study by Lee et al. (2019) demonstrated that VR-based attention training increased sustained attention and selective attention in healthy individuals.

This Short-Term Attention Therapy (STAT) will be conducted by the AFG Neurobehavioral Therapy Team.

Contact Dr. Elena Labkovsky at elabkovsky@afgfamily.com to schedule STAT sessions.