Phobias are among the most pressing mental health challenges of the present time. Heliophobia is among the fears that afflict thousands in the United States and across the globe. Essentially, this phobia is characterized by an irrational fear of sunlight or bright light. While it is a rare condition, this phobia can have serious impacts and severely limit the lives of those who suffer from it. When confronted with a situation that requires them to stay in the sun, those with heliophobia experience crippling fear and anxiety. Unfortunately, little research has been conducted to determine the underlying causes and the effective treatments for this condition. The lack of adequate research underscores the need for researchers to dedicate their effort and resources to shedding light on this phobia. It is possible to use research on general phobias to identify some of the strategies that hold promise for the treatment of heliophobia. Virtual reality is emerging as one of the most effective interventions for treating various phobias. For instance, Maples-Keller, Yasinski, Manjin and Rothbaum (2017) joined forces to explore the effectiveness of virtual reality in alleviating the symptoms associated with various phobias. Their observations confirm that when implemented appropriately, virtual reality can indeed have beneficial effects and relieve the suffering and anxiety caused by phobias. Whereas it is true that Maples-Keller and her team do not particularly investigate the impact of virtual reality on heliophobia, their research sheds light on the promise that this intervention holds. Such other researchers as Gabara, Barros-Neto, Gertesenchtein, and Lotufo-Neto (2015) have also established that virtual reality helps in the treatment of such fears as social phobia. The fact that various researchers have identified virtual reality as an effective treatment approach lends credibility to the research that will be conducted and underscores the important role that this research will play. In conducting the study, the researcher is driven by the goal of establishing if virtual reality improves the condition of those ailing from heliophobia.
As noted above, a study will be performed to establish the effect that virtual reality has on heliophobia. The main goal that is driving this study is to shed light on the practical applications of virtual reality in the treatment of various mental illnesses. It is expected that the study will confirm that virtual reality is a safe and highly effective intervention whose administration results in significant improvements in the symptoms exhibited by those grappling with heliophobia. The research cited above serves as the basis of this hypothesis. Since the research has concluded that virtual reality alleviates the anxiety that accompanies various phobias, it can be hypothesized that individuals with heliophobia will also experience the healing effects of virtual reality. In order to confirm or refute this hypothesis, the research will be guided by a number of specific aims. These aims are outlined below:
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Aim 1: To establish the changes in the symptoms of heliophobic participants after exposure to virtual reality therapy
Aim 2: To determine the level of exposure to virtual reality therapy that delivers improvements
The specific aims listed above will allow the research to yield useful insights that can be integrated into practice. In particular, aim 1 will shed light on whether virtual reality therapy is truly effective as has been determined by other researchers. By pursuing the second aim, it is hoped that the research will determine the amount of time that individuals should be exposed to virtual reality therapy for the benefits of this intervention to be witnessed. In closing, the study will provide practitioners with the insights that they need to adopt virtual reality as a first-line intervention in the treatment of heliophobia.
References
Gabara, C. M., Barros-Neto, T. P., Gertesenchtein, L., & Lotufo-Neto, F. (2015). Virtual reality exposure using three-dimensional images for the treatment of social phobia. Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry, 38 (1). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1516-4446-2014-1560
Maples-Keller, J. L., Yasinski, C., Manjin, N., & Rothbaum, B. O. (2017). Virtual reality-enhanced extinction of phobias and post-traumatic stress. Neurotherapeutics, 14 (3), 554-63.
