Browsing by Author "Mitchell, Amber"

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    The Impact of Virtual Reality Technology on Public Speaking Anxiety
    (2021-04) Mitchell, Amber; Abner, John Paul
    Individuals struggle with anxiety ranging from that of mild to severe anxiety disorders, which require much more in-depth treatment. This single participant design explored how effective the use of publicly available virtual reality (VR) technology, through an application called Virtual Speech, is in treating anxiety at a subclinical level, using a student in a speech class with public speaking anxiety. This participant filled out a questionnaire about their speech prior to giving the speech, after partaking in a required speech lab, and after the speech was given in class. This questionnaire sought to understand the thought processes and the physical reactions to the speech. I hypothesized that would be a decrease in anxiety with each questionnaire, but actually resulted in a varied level of anxiety. The potential limitation to the data is the impact that rehearsal helped to reduce anxiety, as well as a need for one additional questionnaire to have been given after the speech lab. As the student gave the speech multiple times, there is a chance that the reduction in anxiety has to do more with being better prepared for the speech, thus reducing the anxiety.
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    This Generation and their Screens: The Innovation of Virtual Reality Therapy
    (2019-12-09) Mitchell, Amber; Edmondson, Todd
    The majority of individuals who struggle with a mental illness in the United States remain untreated. There is a great need for accessible and affordable treatment, and technology may be the answer. Being a therapist requires creativity and imagination, and that creativity combined with virtual reality technology is a solution that allows for accessible treatment. Thus far, virtual reality technology has been used to provide vestibular input, which is used for the treatment of vertigo, as well as to treat patients with autism or those who struggle with specific phobias. There are already proven successes, and there is so much more opportunity for this method of treatment to flourish. This technology, in conjunction with an imaginative approach to therapy, can become the best, most affordable solution to decreasing the number of individuals struggling with accessible healthcare for mental illness.