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Using VR to change lives

How virtual reality is helping tackle phobias and resolve conflict.

Virtual Reality is being used by researchers around the world to change people’s lives – helping them confront their own fears and change how they treat other people.

In the UK, a company is using VR to help people with a fear of heights. The automated therapy system puts participants in a virtual multi-story building to help them combat their fear.

A team in Israel is experimenting with using VR to change how people on both sides of the conflict feel about the other.

And in Spain, a virtual reality simulation is being used in prisons. They’re trying to make people convicted of domestic violence aware of what it feels like to be in the position of their victims.

Presenter: Jo Mathys
Producer/Reporter: Serena Tarling

Image: Someone using a VR headset (Getty Images)

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27 minutes

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