Brenda K. Wiederhold – författare

The interactive computer-generated world of virtual reality has been successful in treat­ing phobias and other anxiety-related conditions, in part because of its distinct advan­tages over traditional in vivo exposure. Yet many clinicians still think of VR technology as it was in the 1990s–bulky, costly, technically difficult–with little knowledge of its evolution toward more modern, evidence-based, practice-friendly treatment.These updates, and their clinical usefulness, are the subject of Advances in Virtual Re­ality and Anxiety Disorders, a timely guidebook geared toward integrating up-to-date VR methods into everyday practice. Introductory material covers key virtual reality concepts, provides a brief history of VR as used in therapy for anxiety disorders, ad­dresses the concept of presence, and explains the side effects, known as cybersickness, that affect a small percentage of clients. Chapters in the book's main section detail current techniques and review study findings for using VR in the treatment of:·                     Claustrophobia.·                     Panic disorder, agoraphobia, and driving phobia.·                     Acrophobia and aviophobia.·                    Arachnophobia.·                     Social phobia.·                     Generalized anxiety disorder and OCD.·                     PTSD.·                     Plus clinical guidelines for establishing a VR clinic.An in-depth framework for effective (and cost-effective) therapeutic innovations for entrenched problems, Advances in Virtual Reality and Anxiety Disorders will find an engaged audience among psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and mental health counselors.eractive

The interactive computer-generated world of virtual reality has been successful in treat­ing phobias and other anxiety-related conditions, in part because of its distinct advan­tages over traditional in vivo exposure. Yet many clinicians still think of VR technology as it was in the 1990s–bulky, costly, technically difficult–with little knowledge of its evolution toward more modern, evidence-based, practice-friendly treatment.These updates, and their clinical usefulness, are the subject of Advances in Virtual Re­ality and Anxiety Disorders, a timely guidebook geared toward integrating up-to-date VR methods into everyday practice. Introductory material covers key virtual reality concepts, provides a brief history of VR as used in therapy for anxiety disorders, ad­dresses the concept of presence, and explains the side effects, known as cybersickness, that affect a small percentage of clients. Chapters in the book's main section detail current techniques and review study findings for using VR in the treatment of:·                     Claustrophobia.·                     Panic disorder, agoraphobia, and driving phobia.·                     Acrophobia and aviophobia.·                    Arachnophobia.·                     Social phobia.·                     Generalized anxiety disorder and OCD.·                     PTSD.·                     Plus clinical guidelines for establishing a VR clinic.An in-depth framework for effective (and cost-effective) therapeutic innovations for entrenched problems, Advances in Virtual Reality and Anxiety Disorders will find an engaged audience among psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and mental health counselors.eractive

Using a novel approach to consider the available literature and research, this book focuses on the psychology of social media based on the assumption that the experience of being in a social media has an impact on both our identity and social relationships. In order to ‘be online’, an individual has to create an online presence – they have to share information about themselves online. This online self is presented in different ways, with diverse goals and aims in order to engage in different social media activities and to achieve desired outcomes. Whilst this may not be a real physical presence, that physicality is becoming increasingly replicated through photos, video, and ever-evolving ways of defining and describing the self online. Moreover, individuals are using both PC-based and mobile-based social media as well as increasingly making use of photo and video editing tools to carefully craft and manipulate their online self. This book therefore explores current debates in Cyberpsychology, drawing on the most up-to-date theories and research to explore four main aspects of the social media experience (communication, identity, presence and relationships). In doing so, it considers the interplay of different areas of psychological research with current technological and security insight into how individuals create, manipulate and maintain their online identity and relationships. The social media are therefore at the core of every chapter, with the common thread throughout being the very unique approach to considering diverse and varied online behaviours that may not have been thus far considered from this perspective. It covers a broad range of both positive and negative behaviours that have now become integrated into the daily lives of many westernised country’s Internet users, giving it an appeal to both scholarly and industry readers alike.