A Therapy System for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Using a Virtual Agent and Virtual Storytelling to Reconstruct Traumatic Memories

Tielman, Myrthe L.; Neerincx, Mark A.; Bidarra, Rafael; Kybartas, Ben; Brinkman, Willem‐Paul

doi:10.1007/s10916-017-0771-y

Cited by 83 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Más allá de los recursos inmediatos de los que echa mano una persona cuando sufre un suceso traumático (desahogarse emocionalmente en sus familiares o amigos, buscar apoyo social y familiar, concentrarse en el trabajo o distraerse con sus aficiones habituales, etcétera), hay estrategias de afrontamiento que permiten superar a largo plazo el daño emocional sufrido (Tielman, Neerincx, Bidarra, Kybartas & Brinkman, 2017).…”

Section: Estrategias De Afrontamiento Adaptativasunclassified

Memoria traumática: estrategias de afrontamiento adaptativas e inadaptativas

Echeburúa

Amor

2019

Ter Psicol

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Recibido (10 de abril de 2018) Aceptado (28 de noviembre de 2018) ResumenEn este artículo se analiza la relación existente entre los recuerdos traumáticos y las posibles estrategias para hacerles frente. Los recuerdos traumáticos son difíciles de integrar en la biografía de las personas afectadas y pueden interferir de forma significativa en su funcionamiento social, académico y profesional. Se distingue psicopatológicamente entre los recuerdos normales y los recuerdos traumáticos. Asimismo se analizan las estrategias de afrontamiento adaptativas, tales como la evitación cognitiva, la exposición terapéutica a los recuerdos traumáticos o la capacidad de perdón. Pero también hay un afrontamiento inadaptativo (nostalgia, sentimientos de odio y de venganza o conductas autodestructivas) que puede dar cuenta de las dificultades de recuperación en algunos pacientes. Por último, se examinan las estrategias de regulación emocional cognitiva y el papel de la resiliencia y del crecimiento postraumático para afrontar los recuerdos traumáticos. Se comentan las implicaciones de este estudio para investigaciones futuras en esta área. Palabras clave: recuerdos traumáticos; estrategias de afrontamiento adaptativas; afrontamiento inadecuado; resiliencia; crecimiento postraumático. AbstractIn this paper the relationship between traumatic memories and coping skills to deal with them is analyzed. Traumatic memories are difficult to be integrated into the survivor's life story and can significantly interfere with social, educational and occupational functioning. From a psychopathological point of view, a distinction between normal and traumatic memories is made. Adaptive coping skills to deal with traumatic memories, such as cognitive avoidance, therapeutic exposure to traumatic memories or forgiveness, are analyzed. But there is also maladaptive coping, such as nostalgia, hate and revenge feelings or self-destructive behaviors, which should be taken into account to explain the difficulties of recovery in some patients. Finally, the cognitive emotion regulation strategies and the role of resiliency and post-traumatic growth in some patients to cope with traumatic memories are examined. Implications of this study for future research in this field are commented upon.

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Section: Estrategias De Afrontamiento Adaptativasunclassified

Memoria traumática: estrategias de afrontamiento adaptativas e inadaptativas

Echeburúa

Amor

2019

Ter Psicol

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“…The prospects of VR as a storytelling medium for varying purposes increase dramatically each year as the ability to guide the experience during immersion increases the effect of the presence that the medium has on the person experiencing it [126,127]. When this is applied to the treatment of disorders such as PTSD and similar mental health issues, it offers many benefits to the therapy such as the dissolution of barriers such as stigma or cost [128,129]. The serious games application of VR offers various scenarios and generates scenery according to the advancing exposure [130].…”

Section: Previous Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconstructing Personal Stories in Virtual Reality as a Mechanism to Recover the Self

Georgieva

Georgiev

2019

IJERPH

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Advances in virtual reality present opportunities to relive experiences in an immersive medium that can change the way we perceive our life stories, potentially shaping our realities for the better. This paper studies the role of virtual reality as a tool for the creation of stories with the concept of the self as a narrator and the life of the self as a storyline. The basis of the study is the philosophical notion of the self-narrative as an explanatory story of the events in one’s life that constitutes the notion of one’s self. This application is suitable for cases when individuals need to recreate their self, such as during recovery after traumatic events. The analysis of the effects of virtual reality shows that it enables a person to engage in a process of deeper self-observation to understand and explain adverse events and to give meaning to these events to form a new story, which can complement the therapeutic outcomes of exposure treatments. This study proposes concrete examples of immersive scenarios used to reconstruct personal stories. Several possible levels of experience are proposed to suggest that recovery can be achieved through the gradual retelling of the self-narrative, addressing all of the underlying narratives. Considering the ethical challenges that might arise, this paper explores the ways in which immersion in virtual reality can benefit a person’s view toward life as a story and his or her self as its author, comparing this idea with previous research on the application of virtual reality for trauma treatment. The analysis also emphasizes the perception of narrative authorship in virtual reality as an essential method for recovering the self-narrative and improving a patient’s mental health during self-actualization.

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“…The use of intelligent virtual therapists in combination with exposure treatment using multimedia including virtual environments could potentially facilitate an anonymous form of therapy. Such an application was developed by Tielman et al and is currently investigated in patients with sexual assault or combat related PTSD (15). More research on applications like these for PTSD treatment is necessary before conclusions on efficacy and usability can be drawn.…”

Section: Editorialmentioning

confidence: 99%