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Therapists use Virtual Reality for Veterans
ahoehn writes "NPR is reporting that researchers from the University of Southern California along with the Office of Naval Research are simulating combat situations which cause Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for theraputic purposes. Their immersive virtual reality technique seems to consist of the game Full Spectrum Warrior, headphones, and a set of VR goggles. From the article: 'The object is to help veterans come to terms with what they've experienced in places like Iraq and Afghanistan by immersing vets in the sights and sounds of those theaters of battle.'
One can only assume that soon someone be reforming carjackers by letting them play the GTA."
I'd think that this technology would be more useful as a training tool, to help new soldiers learn what to expect in combat. Also, couldn't this be used as a physological filter, to identify those most likely to come down with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the first place?
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
. . . for pervs in hawaian shirts?
One can only assume that soon someone be reforming carjackers by letting them play the GTA.
Obviously, this should've been "soon someone done be reforming". Pft.. these posters need to learn English.
No, Mr. Connery. Just you.
Crap. Then there goes my Karma (again).
One can only assume that soon someone be reforming carjackers by letting them play the GTA.
Because, as everyone knows, a criminal hijacking cars results in the same trauma that soldier experiences when his humvee is blown up.
I can't believe someone could even equate the "thrill" of performing a criminal act with the trauma of war.
The psychologists are trying to help the soldiers understand why they act and react the way they do after a traumatic event. One Mash episode scratches the surface of this type of therapy. A doctor experiences something which seems ordinary in the daily life of a soldier, but he later tries to prevent another physician from administering gas anesthesia to a patient in need of surgery. During therapy the doctor comes to realize the the "ordinary" experience was actually a mother smothering her child to prevent the nearby enemy from finding the group's location.
A PTSD soldier desires a normal life.
-Adam
Good job trying to patronize treatment that could help people whom selflessly risked their lives (even if you agree with it or not) to help protect your country and you. Your little GTA comment was completely unneccesary.
One can only assume that soon someone be reforming carjackers by letting them play the GTA.
This is a cheap shop that vividly reveals the author's ignorance.
In the first place, there is an enormous moral difference between carjacking and attempting to kill and capture, for example terrorists in Afganistan.
Moreover, PTSS is a *real* issue. People going to war see unpleasant things, and dealing with that may be difficult. The intention is not to get them to feel bad about what they did, but to adjust to life where getting shot at is not an issue.
Scuttlemonkey should be ashamed.
I'm a disabled veteran and have struggled to come to terms with what I've been through during two deployments. I expect an apology from you and Slashdot in general for posting such a demeaning thing about those who've tried to protect their countries.
Why are they doing this? The soldiers knew what they were getting into when they signed up, they knew the risks. If they felt they couldn't handle the stresses of war then they shouldn't have signed up.
... such as replacing human therapists with computers.
... where to begin, so many horrors to choose from. So show some fucking respect for vets, okay?
The army needs all the soldiers it can get. Recruitment numbers are not good. Stop-loss orders are in effect. Perhaps AWOLs are up, I'm not sure.
In any case, the army has a basic interest in keeping soldiers in fighting trim. If videogame therapy helps return a soldier to the battlefield, that's a good thing for the army. Second best, returning a soldier to a non-combat support task. Failing that, finding a way to lower VA costs
Just a thought -- I'm not army myself, not really qualified.
I must say, too, that there are some profoundly insensitive posts in this thread. Don't talk to me about Wasting Taxpayer Money on vets. I don't happen to support the Iraq wars, but goddamit, soldiers keep getting fucked by their superiors, war after war. World War One: bonus marchers. World War Two, Korea: post-war bomb testing, irradiated vets, cancer, official denial. Vietnam
-kgj
-kgj
Even if it wasn't used for "therapy" but instead used for a simulation - one that medicates the need for younglings - then it's a good thing right?
/. crowd. Moreover, watching those videos, does not encourage you to become a rapist, cause you to become a rapist or otherwise make you guilty of any crime. Just as obvious, right?
Well,that's a tad more intelligent than a bullet to the brain suggested by someone else. Paedophilia is defined as an interest or desire, not an act. The word for the act is molestation or rape. Knowing what words mean is helpful to intelligent discussion, innit?
Satisfying desires or interests of any sort take an infinite number of forms, most of which are benign. With respect to sexual desires, watching X-rated videos found in your local video store is one form. I trust that requires little explanation for the
The problem, however, is that the above common-sense logic, in the context of underage material, is turned on its head. Viewing such material is considered a crime. A serious crime. The reasoning behind this IIRC stems from a Supreme Court decision where it was argued and accepted that such material encourages the person act out on his desires. It has also been argued and accepted in related cases that the distribution of such material creates further demand for them, thereby creating a market of some sort, hence the new laws that make mere possesion a crime.
So, while watching Jenna Jameson do the nasty won't make you a rapist, watching Natalie Portman do the same (to use the current reasoning) will. And, irrespective of your actions or lack of them, you will be deemed a threat to society. And if you are found to be in possession of a topless picture of Natalie Portman, you could very well end up in jail.
Most paedophiles hide in their own maturbatory fantasy worlds and are of no threat to anyone except themselves. Similary, the most of what is considered kiddy porn, urban legends aside, involves no sexual acts.
With respect to the topic at hand, my own opinion is that a therapeutic use would have the same value as that of a Jenna Jameson video. Which isn't much. Satisfying, perhaps, at least to her fans, but not therapeutic. And for the records, I really don't know WTF Jenna Jameson is, and used her name only because I've seen it bandied about on / when the topic involves RAID devices.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Actually the difference is that soldiers (unlike even police officers and firefighters) work for the federal government as instruments of American political will. A police officer works for the city of Phoenix, and a firefighter works for Westchester County, but a soldier puts his life on the line on behalf of every American.
When a police officer saves a life or kills a criminal and gets a medal, he is recognized for the effort he has made on behalf of his community. When a soldier receives such recognition, it is for acts on behalf of the entire nation.
Also, there is a critical difference in that soldiers are called up on to kill people. That's not something that might come up in their jobs, it is at the core of their jobs. They are asked to do the very thing that society teaches us all not to do. The recognition that veterans receive is largely because soldiers not only take risks, but they are made to kill.
They are the proxies for you and me and John Kerry and George Bush. Whether you support the war or not, the soldiers are still killing and dying because our representative government sent them to do that job on behalf of all of us.
Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ