Virtual reality can help to develop a new reality

So much of our work as psychiatrists involves attempts to alter our patients' distorted sense of reality. In an attempt to make public places appear less threatening to patients with agoraphobia, Malbos et al. (2012) used a virtual reality technique called virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET). Their positive findings give us optimism that in the near future we may have another tool to assist our patients on their challenging journey towards the discovery of a new reality. The use of technology that is expensive, complicated and limited to expert centres can give us an illusion of superior efficacy, and although the study by Malbos et al. (2012) does not promote VRET as a more efficacious treatment, it is important to examine the potential additional benefits of VRET, the specific indications for the use of VRET, and where VRET fits among our current psychotherapeutic armamentarium.