Ambiente virtual gamificado para tratamento de ansiedade oriunda de traumas utilizando técnica de Dessensibilização e Reprocessamento por Movimentos Oculares

Abstract

In recent years, the use of Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence in games and gamified environments has been widely disseminated and explored, both for the medical field and for psychotherapy. In therapeutic systems, environments for patient immersion therapy stand out, as in the treatment of phobias and post-traumatic stress. In contrast, a therapy technique called EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) has been shown through research to be more efficient than cognitive-behavioral therapy for treating trauma. EMDR acts through the repetitive horizontal movement of the patient's eyes, with the premise that this movement, also present in the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) phase, facilitates the desensitization of bad feelings associated with traumatic memories. This way, the brain handles memories more logically, reducing the anxiety symptoms associated with them. The system created is a 3D representation of an office with a virtual therapist that induces the user to perform eye movement while communicating with him. Then, throughout the session, the user continuously reports his current anxiety level, and has his heartrate measured and registered. Combining these two data, the system uses fuzzy logic to calculate the resulting anxiety level. The system also creates a spreadsheet at the end of the session with the user’s states information, which can be used by the patient’s therapist to analyze its evolution in therapy over time. The registration of this data is done by a database created with SQLite. Health professionals evaluated the system, and they considered that the system has possibilities to help therapists adopt new technologies in their practices. Also, it has some differences concerning existing web environments, providing more playful and motivating opportunities for carrying out the therapy.