Maybe you’ve got a handle on air travel, but you feel like you’re having a heart attack every time you give a wedding toast. In addition to fear of flying, Dr. Reiner treats several other phobias — sometimes using virtual reality, sometimes not. For the public-speaking–phobic, Reiner uses virtual-reality software to simulate being onstage in front of an audience. He has similar programs that help conquer fear of heights, enclosed spaces and bad weather, although according to Behavioral Associates assistant director Leslie Sadoff, the organization hasn’t used the software for these three yet.
When dealing with fear of driving, animals and the subway, Dr. Reiner outfits patients in the same goggles used in the virtual-reality therapies. But rather than experiencing computer-simulated environments, patients see video footage that corresponds to their specific phobia. Combining relaxation techniques with the video images helps acclimatize patients to the situations, even if they don’t witness a full 360-degree virtual world.
While there is little other high-tech therapy offered in New York, one group of dentists is using virtual reality to eradicate anxiety while they clean your teeth. At the Dental Phobia Treatment Center, Drs. Michael Krochak and Robert Friedman first teach you breathing exercises to encourage relaxation. Then they employ virtual-reality eyewear to distract you with videos so you won’t feel nervous while you sit in the chair. (Fear not: They don’t screen Marathon Man.)
In general, beating phobias in the city is done the old-fashioned way — brain to brain. Dr. Eric Hollander heads up the Compulsive, Impulsive and Anxiety Disorders Program at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, which specializes in diagnosing and treating obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized-anxiety disorder, pathological gambling and internet addiction.
A lower-cost alternative to individual therapy is group sessions at clinics such as the Zenspeak International - Public Speaking and Social Anxiety Center. Center originator Charles di Cagno was also a phobia therapist for 20 years at the White Plains Hospital Phobia Clinic , the oldest hospital-affiliated phobia-treatment center in the country.
You can also search the database of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America website (www.adaa.org/forprofessionals/therapists/searchthetherapistlist), which sorts therapists nearest to you by zip code. Note to obsessive-compulsives: There are a lot of shrinks in this town, so you might find yourself on the phone for the next six months.