Title: Dr. JoAnn Difede, director of the Program for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Studies (PATSS) at NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine.
Dr. JoAnn Difede was at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell during 9/11 and is a pioneer in developing virtual reality simulations for the use in the treatment of PTSD in first responders, survivors, family members, veterans and others. Dr. Difede now leads a $15 million, multi-center program that treats active duty military and veterans of the War in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“In the aftermath, many civilian survivors, first responders, rescue workers experienced post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD manifests as intrusive imagery that pops in your mind, even when you least expect it, difficulty sleeping, irritability, anxiety, and avoiding your thoughts, feelings, people and places that remind you of your experience. Hence people typically avoid treatment since it reminds them of their trauma” said Dr. Difede.
Dr. Difede explains how virtual reality is a game changer for PTSD treatment:
• When the virtual World Trade Center simulation was created, the work was experimental. We did not know if using VR simulations would be effective in the treatment of PTSD. Our work with WTC survivors demonstrated that VR exposure therapy was effective for the treatment of PTSD and helped to lay the foundation for the use of the VR in treating combat-related PTSD. Now there is substantial evidence showing that VR based treatment is effective for PTSD related to terrorism, combat and other traumas
• A virtual reality software simulation and headset helps recreate the trauma in an immersive environment. During this treatment, the therapist has control over what the patient sees, and the patient talks about what he or she experienced that day while immersed in the WTC simulation. The end goal, over time, is remission of the PTSD symptoms.
• When we started, the headset weighed 10 pounds and cost $25,000 and required the computing power of a work station to run the software, but now advances in technology have made it much more accessible with headsets costing around $1500 and prices continually decreasing. Portable headsets and faster computer processors available even in high end laptops are leading us closer to widespread adoption of VR in health care. VR is almost “turnkey.”
Dr. Difede is available for interviews this week and next.(Dr. Difede has broadcast experience)
To arrange an interview with Dr. JoAnn Difede, please call 212-821-0560 or email [email protected].
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