Exposure Therapy - Full Spectrum Warrior

[anthony]

The 2004 game, Full Spectrum Warrior, is now the basis for the US VA systems interactive approach by using simulators to help veterans lower their anger spectrum through the use of exposure to video interactivity that simulates decent war like effects.

Interesting how they got it right in 2004, yet can't really replicate it in games today.

http://www.thq.com/us/game/show/4524/Full Spectrum Warrior

 

[FMG]

It depends, different people respond to different videogames in different ways. I like puzzles and grand strategy games. My poison is more thinking about combinations than the reflex orientated gaming of first person shooters. It's rather soothing in that it's constructive violence or a distraction.

Tetris was said to be good for us too.

 

[Jimmy1]

I play 'Plants V Zombies'. I can zone out for hours playing that. There is a fair bit of strategy in the higher levels.

 

[femaleveteran]

I been playing alot of chess....not online but just against my computer...it seems to keep me pretty occupied and I seem to be able to concentrate on it but I lose alot...LOL....I also been playing alot of online poker but only for play money not for real money....it keeps me on my toes because even though I do not play for real money I still like racking up the huge numbers so again,, it is all about what will keep my brain engaged at this point. I used to love to read but lately I have found that I cannot concentrate at all on reading. Lately i been noticing that I will spend an hour reading the same page over and over again and not know what a sngle bit of it is about.

My ex and I used to play some Xbox games like Call To Duty and all that online with his nephew who lives in another state but since he left I have not touched the thing.

 

[anthony]

Exposure therapy is different to relaxation based games... this game is now being used for exposure therapy, to help with the cognitive reprogramming associated to war stimuli. You can't go and put a person back in a war zone and create a fire fight for therapeutic cause... so this game is now taking aim to achieve this in simulation with therapy for vets.

The idea is to help a vet reduce the anger component with cognitive restructuring whilst being exposed to the stimuli. I think it will work well if the game is as good as they say for realism closeness.

 

[Jimmy1]

I think I saw a documentary on this. The setup they were using was almost as real as a flight simulator they use for the hornets. Is that the one your talking about, or is it just the standard version??

 

[anthony]

Seen that one... this is a normal war style, Army version... they took the above game and made it simulated on more mobile platforms to put troops within for exposure therapy...

The thing is... you can actually just buy the PC game above, which has a similar effect in done in combination with therapy.