Virtual Iraq Overview

Virtual Iraq is a set of virtual reality environments created to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) combat service men and women as well as those who have served in Afghanistan. The development and clinical evaluation of Virtual Iraq was funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR Award No: N000140510384), a project that lasted three years.

The idea of Virtual Iraq is credited to Dr Albert “Skip” Rizzo, a clinical psychologist from the University of Southern California. Dr. Rizzo, with colleagues from University of Southern California/Institute of Creative Technologies (USC/ICT), adapted the video game “Full Spectrum Warrior” to create the clinical tool now known as Virtual Iraq. In its current form, Virtual Iraq represents the collaborative efforts of USC/ICT, Naval Medical Center-San Diego (NMC-SD), Virtually Better Inc. (VBI), and the Geneva Foundation, all of which have been involved in the ongoing efforts to empirically evaluate and improve this innovative technology to treat PTSD.

From a clinical standpoint, Virtual Iraq is form of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET), a virtual reality approach to conducting prolonged exposure (PE) therapy, one of the most evidence-based methods of psychotherapeutic treatment for post-traumatic stress. PE is a cognitive-behavioral intervention in which the patient is virtually exposed (for 30-45 minutes per session) to a variety of stimuli (i.e., visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and olfactory) with the purpose of having the patient gradually face the fearful experiences that underlie his/her traumatic memories until habituation to the anxiety occurs.

Virtual Iraq is now available for both research and clinical use, and is being readily adopted by the Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs Hospitals, and academic institutions across the country to study and treat PTSD. If you or your institution are interested in obtaining the software and hardware associated with Virtual Iraq, and any other complementary instruments that can accompany this treatment (e.g., VR programs to treat phobias, substance abuse, and chronic pain, psychophysiological instruments, etc), please contact Emilio Coirini, Director of Sales at Virtually Better, at coirini@virtuallybetter.com or 404-634-3400 x 228.

In addition to delivering, installing, and supporting the hardware and software for Virtual Iraq, Virtually Better, Inc. and its internationally recognized PTSD expert consultants, are available to train you and your colleagues on the technical and clinical applications of this treatment protocol and/or other virtual reality applications. If you have research or clinical inquiries regarding Virtual Iraq or any of our other virtual reality clinical applications, or are interested in onsite clinical training by our internationally recognized expert consultants, contact Dr. Josh Spitalnick, Director of Research and Clinical Services, at spitalnick@virtuallybetter.com or 404-634-3400 x223.

 

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