As part of her work, Corrie Ackland collects some pretty strange objects.
She has toy spiders, snakes and lizards. Her office is stocked with picture books full of images of blood and needles.
But the most important things she stockpiles are a series of immersive 360-degree videos with scenes of dogs on the beach, or pigeons in St Mark’s Square in Venice.
That’s because Ms Ackland is a psychologist who treats phobias – a type of fear that causes someone distress or impairment.
And she uses virtual reality — a futuristic headset displaying all-encompassing videos of crawling spiders or dizzying heights — to help people manage their anxiety and learn to live with a phobia.
In fact, virtual reality (VR) technology is increasingly being used or trialled in treating a number of conditions — from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to the depressive symptoms of dementia.
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