The AWARE technique offers five steps to help the patient accept, contemplate and then act on their anxiety rather than trying to control it. Dr. Malbos recommends teaching it in session, as a structured dialogue with the patient. Camille, the AI assistant of C2Care, accompanies the patient without judgment during the exposure.
Provoking a specific anxiety-provoking situation, at the right time, to apply the steps of the AWARE method is not always possible outside the office. Reproducing an identical anxiety situation from one session to the next rarely remains controllable in a real context.
Certain situations depend on a place, a time or the presence of third parties, which makes their repetition and progressiveness difficult for the practitioner to organize.
Virtual reality makes it possible to recreate these situations directly in the office, in a controlled and reproducible environment, conducive to the progressive application of the AWARE method.
The C2Care environments allow you to recreate situations associated with anxiety and gradually integrate them into the four stages of the method: accept, contemplate, act, repeat.
In a crowded subway, the patient measures and contemplates his level of anxiety while accepting the associated physical sensations. In an elevator or on a plane, he works on recognizing his catastrophic thoughts and acting despite the anxiety rather than avoiding it. Faced with a spider, he trains himself to continue his current activity.
These situations can be repeated and graduated according to the practitioner's protocol, in order to work with the patient on acceptance, observation and action in the face of anxiety.
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
Several immersive environments allow the practitioner to illustrate and apply the steps of the AWARE method.
A noisy and crowded subway train allows you to measure and contemplate the level of anxiety.
The elevator allows you to work on catastrophic thoughts and action despite anxiety.
The airport and plane provide a controlled environment to work on acceptance and action.
The patient trains himself to continue his activity despite the progressive presence of spiders.
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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.
Tan YL et al. — Virtual reality exposure for social anxiety disorders: meta-analysis and meta-regression of randomized controlled trials
Virtual reality exposure therapy for social anxiety disorders: a meta-analysis and meta-regression of randomized controlled trials
Rejbrand C et al. — Stand-alone virtual reality exposure for social anxiety symptoms: systematic review and meta-analysis
Stand-alone virtual reality exposure therapy as a treatment for social anxiety symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis
van Loenen I et al. — Effectiveness of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy Combined with CBT for Severe Anxiety Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
The Effectiveness of Virtual Reality Exposure-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Severe Anxiety Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Meta-analysis
Horigome T et al. — Virtual reality exposure for social anxiety disorder: systematic review and meta-analysis
Virtual reality exposure therapy for social anxiety disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Huang Q et al. — Virtual reality exposure in pain management: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Using Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy in Pain Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Discover more
Depending on your patients' needs, other areas may also be relevant to explore. Discover the different environments available in C2Care.
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FAQ
Here are the questions most asked by practitioners about the use of virtual reality and the AWARE method in therapy.
Therapeutic virtual reality has been tested in hospitals since 2016. Practitioners now use it to treat anxiety disorders and phobias, thanks to virtual environments reproducing various anxiety-provoking situations.
The practitioner chooses a suitable virtual environment from a control platform, while the patient wears the headset. It then adjusts the intensity of the stimuli in real time for graduated exposure, based on the patient's reactions.
A virtual environment is an immersive scene reproducing an anxiety-provoking situation, such as a plane, a subway or a spider. The practitioner uses it to gradually expose the patient to their fears, in a secure and reproducible setting.
Used in a therapeutic setting supervised by a practitioner, virtual reality does not present any particular danger. Around 10% of patients may experience temporary cybersickness (nausea, disorientation), generally limited to the duration of the session.
Virtual reality treats anxiety disorders: specific phobias, post-traumatic stress, obsessive-compulsive disorders. It also applies to addictions, mood disorders and cognitive remediation, depending on the needs of the patient.
Yes, some patients may experience nausea, called cybersickness. This phenomenon concerns around 10% of users and generally remains temporary, linked to individual sensitivity to movement perceived in the virtual environment.
Therapeutic virtual reality is aimed at practitioners: psychologists, psychiatrists, occupational therapists. It is deployed in healthcare establishments such as CHU, hospitals, clinics and nursing homes, to support patient care.
Getting equipped provides access to more than 250 virtual environments combined in a single application, for personalized support. More than 1000 practitioners already use this type of device, which facilitates graduated exposure and patient monitoring.
Graduated exposure in a controlled environment, personalization of scenarios and increased patient engagement facilitate therapeutic monitoring and the transfer of skills to daily life.
Yes, all our environments are grouped into a single application.
The C2Care technical service can be reached via live chat from the control platform. In the event of defective equipment, a return label is provided and replacement is carried out within 48 hours.
Patients with anxiety disorders, phobias or post-traumatic stress disorder can benefit from virtual reality exposure therapy, in addition to treatment by a practitioner.
Contact C2Care customer service via the platform to find out the termination terms applicable to your contract.
