Technological advances notwithstanding, the cornerstone of the VRIT programme relies on its delivery by our trained and professional team of psychotherapists and the relationship they develop with each and every client individually.

The VRIT programme is indeed centred around a positive relationship between the client and the therapist based upon mutual trust and respect, which we call “Rapport”. It is an essential pre-requisite to the success of both treatment and recovery and is established from the very first session onwards.

That is why we start with a comprehensive assessment which may last up to two hours, during which you can share your fears, worries and anxieties in a safe space.

Often, we find that this is the first time clients have felt sufficiently confident and comfortable to disclose their history and the circumstances that may have led to their current symptoms.

Rapport continues to develop long after the assessment. Each therapy session is managed and monitored by the same psychotherapist, ensuring continuity of care.

The therapist ensures that the degree of immersive therapy is in accordance with your best interests and tolerances and that goals and objectives are realistic both in terms of time and content.

In working closely with you, the therapist oversees each stage of the therapeutic journey, providing feedback where necessary, discussing and setting home assignments if appropriate, and liaising with other healthcare professionals, if and when required.

Conventional ‘talking therapies’ such as CBT and REBCT, also have a role to play in the treatment, potentially alongside EMDR and clinical hypnosis. These conventional therapies are always available alongside the core VRIT programme, and will be used where appropriate within your individual treatment plan.

At the VRIT clinic, we use virtual reality technology to help you gradually immerse yourself into a safe and appropriate virtual environment.

We use specially designed programs rendering artificially created environments, together with the most appropriate head-mounted displays currently available, to give each client a simulated experience that can be used to diagnose and then treat psychological conditions causing difficulties that often impact on the quality of their lives.

By simply putting on a VR headset, you will be able to interact with custom environments positioned between real and imaginary and explore them with the help of our trained psychotherapists, completing specially designed tasks that are tailored to treat specific symptoms.

In many environmental situations, reactions to perceived hazards such as heights, speaking in public, flying, are usually triggered by visual and auditory stimulation.
Interacting with harmless virtual representations of traumatic scenes with the guidance of trained therapists helps reduce fear responses and has proven to be especially effective in treating post-traumatic stress disorder, claustrophobia, agoraphobia, general and specific anxieties, fears and phobias.

With the VRIT treatment programme, we have combined this virtual reality immersive experience with complementary technology such as biofeedback and proven therapeutic approaches to provide a comprehensive, safe and effective solution to support you and to help you recover at your own pace and with the best understanding.

This innovative, fully immersive therapeutic approach delivers positive results more effectively and more quickly than conventional stand-alone talking therapies and more traditional and time-consuming exposure therapies.

Biofeedback is a digital method of measuring key bodily responses when exposed to  Virtual Reality Immersive Therapy.

Our therapists use biofeedback to understand your level of anxiety during exposure to the causes of your anxiety or fear. This feedback allows your therapist to adjust your treatment and ensure you get the maximum benefit from your treatment without creating any undue discomfort from your exposure to any psychological or physiological triggers.

By tracking biofeedback responses alongside your own perception of how you felt during various stages of the immersive experience, our therapists further help you create a safe space in which to explore and understand your own reactions.

Biofeedback can also be used to raise your awareness of your bodily reactions to specific situations which can help you understand and control them.

Seeing tangible process also provides positive re-enforcement that helps you to build confidence in the therapeutic process.

Alpha-Wave Stimulation (AWS) is a non-invasive treatment that has been shown to significantly reduce levels of anxiety, depression and insomnia by stimulating the alpha waves of the brain. Studies have shown that AWS increase levels of Serotonin, Melatonin and Dopamine, as well as decreasing levels of Serum Cortisol.

When treating patients for anxiety, panic attacks, stress and worry, it is often found that levels of Serotonin, Melatonin and Dopamine are suppressed. Serotonin is regarded by some researchers as a chemical that is responsible for maintaining mood balance and that a deficit of Serotonin may lead to depression. In fact, Serotonin is thought to be especially active in contributing to well-being and happiness.

Dopamine is a neuro-transmitter released by the brain which notably contributes towards pleasure and reward, stable moods and healthy sleep patterns. Deficiency of Dopamine may be the cause of poor attention levels and declining memory function.

Melatonin is a hormone that is made by a small gland in the brain which helps to control and maintain healthy sleep cycles. It is often found that as a consequence of anxiety and stress, Melatonin levels may drop which will inhibit the quality of good sleep. Anxiety of course also contributes to disturbed sleep patterns as well.

Cortisol is often called the ‘stress hormone’ because of its connection to the stress response. High levels of Cortisol can have a bearing on mood swings and may also contribute towards anxiety and depression.

At the VRIT Clinic, we recommend a series of AWS treatments in conjunction with VRIT as the benefit of these treatments tend to be cumulative. Some people even show improvement after the very first session.

AWS is a non-invasive treatment that has been shown to significantly reduce levels of anxiety, depression and insomnia

You’ll either have an ear clip electrode attached to each ear or wear a headband which enables the connectors to be placed either side of the temples and you will experience little or no sensation.
AWS is offered an adjunct to VRIT and taken as a combined therapy has often proved to produce the most sustainable positive results.

However, if you are pregnant, or suffer from epilepsy or have pacemakers fitted, this treatment will not be suitable for you.

Mindfulness and relaxation techniques can be used as the principle component in the clinical intervention of the treatment of anxiety disorders.

At the VRIT clinic, we use mindfulness and relaxation as significant support of the virtual reality immersive therapy treatment protocol especially when targeted at managing anxieties, fears and phobias.

Using virtual reality environments, you will become immersed in a new world of tranquillity enabling you to leave behind your concerns and worries, refocusing instead on your inner being and beginning to recognise that change is indeed possible.

Supporting our mindfulness programme we also introduce you to diaphragmatic breathing which is also called abdominal breathing. This type of breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system so that any disorders caused by excessive levels of anxiety can be reduced and people can feel so much more relaxed.

You will also be introduced to progressive muscle relaxation. This benefits the body in different ways such as: relieving tension and muscle contractions, improving circulation, reducing blood pressure levels, improving breathing and digestion and diminishing unnecessary energy output.

At the VRIT clinic, we have several virtual environments to help patients perform these relaxation exercises. The psychotherapist is there to manage and guide the patient during this treatment programme so that an exercise regime is structured in accordance with the patient’s needs.

Your Psychotherapist is able to send the appropriate work to you and can monitor remotely how effective the treatment is and how well you are responding to it.

This VRIT Home Kit includes:

• A virtual reality headset (currently compatible with Android phones – but watch this space as the technology still evolves)
  
• Connectivity to our VRIT platform with customised content in sync with your sessions at the VRIT clinic
• Complementary audio downloads to use in conjunction with the headset or on their own
• Customised mindfulness packages to explore with the headset

If you want to enhance the experience even further, we can also provide BioFeedback and Alpha Wave Stimulation home use versions.