Supporting Students Through School Phobia With Virtual Reality Exposure

School phobia is an excessive, often irrational anxiety related to school situations such as oral presentations, exams or fear of judgment from classmates. It is frequently associated with separation anxiety, generalized anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder, and affects around 28% of teenagers during their school years.

Virtual reality exposure therapy gradually confronts children and adolescents with anxiety-inducing school situations in a controlled environment. This gradual exposure helps desensitize patients and reduce anxiety over time. A psychologist guides the process, combining cognitive behavioural therapy with virtual reality exposure.

C2Care offers environments recreating public speaking situations, oral and written exams, and classroom scenes such as lateness or testing. Practitioners can adjust variables like audience size, lighting or mood to match each patient's specific anxiety triggers.

Virtual reality is not considered dangerous for most patients, though some may experience temporary cybersickness, a well-known and reversible phenomenon. It is recommended to start with static environments before progressing to movement. People with epilepsy or who are pregnant should avoid this therapy.

Virtual reality exposure therapy shows strong feasibility across age groups, with adolescents responding particularly well due to increased therapeutic engagement. Studies show virtual reality boosts adolescents' interest in their own therapy, which is especially relevant when treating school phobia.

Virtual reality exposure therapies have demonstrated their effectiveness in treating anxiety disorders, including school phobia, for more than 30 years. C2Care has been a leader in therapeutic virtual reality since 2015, now extending treatment to at-home use.

You need a compatible virtual reality headset to begin. Once equipped, you get unlimited access to C2Care's software suite, including C2Phobia, C2Drive, C2Hypno, C2Brain, C2Custom and C2Motion, to carry out your exposure sessions.

It can happen, it's called cybersickness, a phenomenon well known to scientists that affects part of the population. Fortunately, it is reversible. To get used to it, it is recommended to start with fairly static environments, then make slight head movements before gradually moving on to slower movements. This allows the body to adapt to the sensation of movement while remaining physically still.

Virtual reality exposure is effective across a wide age spectrum. Adolescents show a significant added value in therapeutic engagement, and elderly patients benefit from its use for cognitive stimulation, behavioural disorders and anxiety.

• Professional differentiation: integrating virtual reality into practice sets therapists apart from traditional treatment options.
• Scientific validation: virtual reality exposure therapy is backed by extensive research.
• Improved patient engagement: the interactive nature of virtual reality fosters greater patient involvement in therapy.
• Time-saving: direct access to various exposure environments without external logistics.

Our technical support team can be reached via live chat from your control panel. If you experience issues with your headset, we will work with you to diagnose the problem and find a solution. If necessary, we will provide a return label and replace defective equipment within 48 hours.

Studies show excellent feasibility across adults, adolescents and elderly patients. Adults benefit particularly for anxiety disorders (including school phobia), autism, addictions, eating disorders, neuropsychological and psychotic disorders and mood disorders. Adolescents show increased therapeutic engagement, while elderly patients benefit from cognitive stimulation and work on behavioural disorders and anxiety. Virtual reality exposure is not recommended for people with epilepsy or pregnant individuals.