Amaxophobia, or fear of driving, causes some patients to avoid the road out of anxiety. C2Care offers a graduated exposure in virtual reality to support the practitioner in the management of this disorder.
“Virtual reality shows 80% effectiveness, with benefits maintained more than a year after treatment. » (Eric Malbos, psychiatrist)
Exposure to driving situations can be relevant in supporting the amaxophobic patient. However, reproducing these situations in consultation is not always simple.
A highway, tunnel or bridge depends on a real route, traffic conditions or weather that cannot be controlled. Their identical repetition is difficult, and certain contexts feared by the patient remain inaccessible during the session.
Virtual reality makes it possible to recreate these driving situations directly in the office, in a controlled and reproducible environment.
The environments offered make it possible to recreate anxiety-provoking driving situations and gradually integrate them during the sessions. Highway, tunnel, bridge or mountain road offer varied contexts for working on graduated exposure.
The patient can adjust, with the practitioner, the traffic density, the weather, the time or the length of the journey. These parameters allow the intensity of the stimuli to be increased or decreased depending on the patient's progress.
These situations can be repeated and gradually integrated into the practitioner's protocol in order to work with the patient on anticipatory anxiety, as well as catastrophic thoughts and avoidance related to driving.
VRET
The practitioner seats the patient on a swivel chair and fits them with the virtual reality headset
Using the control interface, the practitioner selects the environment suited to the session's goals and starts the exposure.
During immersion, the practitioner supports the patient using a visual feed and can adjust the exposure scene in real time
Environments
Each environment recreates an anxiety-provoking driving situation, with adjustable parameters depending on the patient.
Entrances, exits, lane changes, trucks and traffic allow you to gradually practice driving on the highway.
The patient can pass through short or long tunnels and progress at their own pace.
Driving in the city involves roundabouts, pedestrians and other vehicles.
Mountain roads, narrow or winding, complete the exposure progression.
Crossing a suspension bridge allows you to work on an exposing driving situation.
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Solène Montègue
Neuropsychiatrist
The developments C2Care is currently integrating into the interface are very promising and meet the established therapeutic objectives [...]: offering tailored exercises that can be adapted to levels of dependency, cognitive disorders, and patients' real-time responses.
Samia Lahya
Psychiatrist
With the acquisition of new equipment [...] and updates to the C2Care programs, its use has expanded even further: OCD, phobias, addictions, anxiety disorders, depression, and PTSD. Ten years later, it is no longer merely a curiosity, but a genuine therapeutic tool that is stimulating, innovative, and effective.
Sabrina Gineau
Psychologist
I incorporate this technology into brief therapies lasting two to four months, with one session per week. I begin with relaxation techniques and, when patients are ready, we proceed. It makes it much easier to expose people to these situations.
Noël Schepers
Psychologist
Virtual reality can enrich and personalize treatment, facilitate patient-therapist collaboration in developing the treatment plan, and add a playful dimension. The possibilities for development and application are immense and extend to every area of psychology and psychotherapy.
Mélanie Boucherot
Psychologist
The value of this technology [C2Care] lies in offering new possibilities for therapeutic support and expanding the range of tools available to healthcare professionals.
François Maltese
Psychologist
For several months, we have been using virtual reality in habituation therapies. Before the procedure, patients are progressively and immersively exposed to their future medical environment and psychologically prepared to accept it.
Dre Marie-Claude Roberge
Doctor of Psychology
Since 2022, we have been using virtual reality therapy with the C2Care platform to simulate exposure to aversive stimuli and triggers that cause anxiety. Exposure therapy is used to treat specific phobias, including fear of heights, enclosed spaces, flying, dogs, emetophobia, and many others.
Dr Laure Du Pouget
Urologist
Using a virtual reality headset for self-hypnosis during prostate biopsies creates a calm atmosphere for a procedure that can sometimes be uncomfortable, even with effective local anesthesia...
Delphine Py
Psychologist
Thank you to C2Care for providing innovative virtual reality solutions to support CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy)! A major step forward in making exposure exercises easier and helping our patients overcome their phobias.
Elphinston et al. — Virtual reality psychological therapy for the treatment of driving phobia
Psychological therapy using virtual reality for treatment of driving phobia: a systematic review
Scheveneels et al. — Underlying mechanisms of virtual reality exposure: anxious expectations and habituation
Underlying Working Mechanisms of Virtual Reality Exposure: Exploring the Role of Fearful Expectancies and Habituation
Kaussner et al. — Treatment of driving phobia through exposure to virtual reality
Treating patients with driving phobia by virtual reality exposure therapy - a pilot study
Wald et al. — Preliminary effectiveness of virtual reality exposure for the treatment of driving phobia
Preliminary research on the efficacy of virtual reality exposure therapy to treat driving phobia
Bazhanov et al. — Virtualization of therapy for alcohol-related disorders: systematic scoping review
Virtualizing Alcohol Use Disorder Therapy: A Systematic Scoping Review
Discover more
Depending on your patients' needs, other areas may also be relevant to explore. Discover the different environments available in C2Care.
Create a free account to discover all exposure situations and subscribe directly online
FAQ
Here are the answers to the questions most asked by practitioners about the treatment of amaxophobia in virtual reality.
Virtual reality allows graduated and safe exposure to anxiety-provoking driving situations, by gradually adjusting the intensity of the stimuli. Repeatable environments promote consistent care, while personalization tailors each exercise to the patient's needs.
C2Care has been testing its virtual reality exposure therapy software in hospitals since 2016. This approach is based on the principles of cognitive-behavioral therapy, used to treat anxiety disorders such as amaxophobia.
The user requires a virtual reality headset, as well as a steering wheel and pedals for the driving environments of C2Care. It can therefore be practiced in various environments: highway, tunnel, city, bridge or mountain.
A phenomenon called cybersickness affects around 10% of people using a virtual reality headset. It manifests itself as nausea or a feeling of disorientation, generally transient, which diminishes with progressive habituation to the device.
Virtual reality treats anxiety disorders (phobias, post-traumatic stress, obsessive-compulsive disorders), addictions, mood disorders and allows cognitive remediation. For amaxophobia, it exposes the patient to progressive anxiety-provoking driving situations.
Yes, all environments are grouped into a single application. For amaxophobia, this includes highway, tunnel, city, bridge and mountain, with adjustable parameters like traffic or weather.
The C2Care technical service can be reached via live chat from your control platform. In the event of a confirmed breakdown, a return label will be provided to you and the defective equipment will be replaced within 48 hours.
A discomfort called cybersickness can occur in around 10% of people exposed to virtual reality.
Psychologists, psychiatrists and other practitioners equipped with CHU, hospitals, clinics or private practitioners can use virtual reality to support their patients.
The practitioner can precisely control the virtual environment, adjust the stimuli and adapt to the patient's needs. The feeling of security felt by the patient facilitates the transition to exposure.
Yes, all our environments are grouped into a single application.
Our technical service can be reached via live chat from your control platform. If there is a problem with the VR headset, we will establish a diagnosis with you in order to understand your difficulty and find a solution. If necessary, we will provide you with a return label and replace the defective material within 48 hours.
Patients suffering from anxiety disorders, phobias such as amaxophobia, addictions or obsessive-compulsive disorders may benefit from virtual reality exposure therapy.
