26.06.2023 – 12:35
Oberberg clinics
Berlin (ots)
Digital aids can supplement classic therapy concepts. The Oberberg Group, a leading quality network of private specialist and day clinics in the field of psychiatry, psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy, is now cooperating with neomento. The company specializes in virtual reality (VR)-based therapy solutions for the treatment of mental illness.
The Oberberg Group is initially offering VR therapy at three of its specialist and day clinics for children and young people who are afraid of school: Oberberg Specialist Clinic Wasserschlösschen (Mönchengladbach), Konraderhof (Cologne Hürth) and Marzipanfabrik (Hamburg).
When school scares you
If young people no longer want to go to school, complain of stomachaches or headaches, nausea or gastrointestinal problems before school starts, it may be because they are afraid of school. “The causes can be varied and range from bullying to fear of failure. The psychological strain is often great – for the child, but also for the parents,” says Dr. medical Ewa Cionek-Szpak, specialist in child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy.
In order to be able to attend school again without fear, behavioral therapy using VR can be a very good option. It makes it possible to transform a room into a therapeutically effective environment, for example a classroom, in just a few seconds. With the help of VR, the child can face the situations that trigger their discomfort and thus learn to face their own fears. The aim of this confrontation or exposure therapy is to adapt thought and behavior patterns over time in such a way that the level of suffering is reduced and, in the best case, eliminated. VR technology in the context of psychotherapy, as used at the Oberberg Kliniken, represents a future-oriented possibility to enable effective and realistic help with a widespread phenomenon,” explains the head physician of the Oberberg Specialist Clinic Wasserschlösschen. The school situation can be Technology is practiced under the supervision of the therapist and the load is gradually increased until participation in the classroom is possible again.
Virtual Reality to Treat Anxiety and Panic
Various evidence-based therapy methods are used in the Oberberg Kliniken, with classic treatment methods and modern scientific therapy approaches being offered in equal measure. The VR therapy takes place as part of the regular individual therapy sessions during the hospital stay. The VR therapy is designed for various mental illnesses, especially for those from the spectrum of anxiety disorders.
Evidence-based VR therapy: neomento
The S3 guideline of the Association of Scientific Medical Societies (AWMF) now explicitly recommends the use of virtual reality therapies for the treatment of anxiety disorders. In the context of anxiety disorders, the effectiveness and practical benefit can be well documented. The neomento system used by the Oberberg Kliniken is a certified class 1 medical product. It is constantly checked and evaluated in university hospitals and in inpatient settings.
More about the cooperation: https://www.oberbergkliniken.de/neomento
About the Oberberg Group: The Oberberg Group, headquartered in Berlin, is a clinic group founded more than 30 years ago with a large number of specialist and day clinics in the field of psychiatry, psychosomatics and psychotherapy at various locations in Germany. In the clinics of the Oberberg Group, adults, adolescents and children are treated in individual, intensive and innovative therapy settings. In addition, there is a Germany-wide network of Oberberg City Centers, corresponding therapists and self-help groups.
About neomento: The neomento project was created in 2017 in Berlin and Magdeburg at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases and was also based at the Charité in Berlin until 2021. Funding from the EU and the federal government made it possible to develop a new therapeutic approach based on clinical findings, which can now be passed on to therapists, clinics and universities under the name neomento. A decisive basis of the project is the close cooperation between researchers, developers and therapists.
Press contact:
HOSCHKE & CONSORTS ([email protected]) www.oberbergkliniken.de
Original content from: Oberberg Kliniken, transmitted by news aktuell