UNB prof helps fight your eight-legged fear

By Alex Kress – The Brunswickan | link to original article

Dr. Darren Piercey isn’t afraid of spiders, but he knows you might be. He has a solution that will spook arachnophobia right out of you.

Piercey is a professor with the UNB psychology department and a large part of his research has been devoted to virtual reality treatments for people with phobias or anxiety disorders. Two weeks ago, he and gaming developer Carl Callewaert launched a phobia-fighting game called Fear of Spiders for the iPad and iPhone.

There are five levels, each one more fear-invoking than the last. The idea is to slowly expose the user to spiders so they become increasingly comfortable and less likely to panic and let their phobia get the better of them.

“If at the very first level there are spiders falling from the ceiling and jumping on you and stuff, it’s just too much for them to take,” said Piercey.

“You can do this type of therapy in an office with a clinician and a real spider, and they’re not going to throw the spider on you. You have to start off thinking about spiders and learning about spiders and at some point in time you would see real spiders.”

In the first level, users will see a spider in a terrarium across the hall. The following levels are a little more aggressive, including a point where the spider makes contact with the user’s virtual hand. Piercey prefers active virtual reality treatment to hypnosis, a commonly used method for tackling phobias.

“I know some people say they’ve had good experiences with it…of course if it works for you, that’s great. [Virtual reality treatment] has been tested and shown to be effective. You’re actually getting used to seeing the thing that you’re afraid of so that when you do see one in real life, you don’t overreact.”

Some phobias are so severe that even glancing at a photo is too much. But to Piercey, the beauty of virtual reality is that it’s more acceptable to people because they know it’s going to scare them, but they also know it’s not real and feel safe and more willing to undergo the therapy. If you’re terrified of spiders or any other creature for that matter, you may not want to go for therapy if you know you’re going to have to see a real spider.

Next, Piercey plans to create modified versions of the software for people who are afraid of dogs, snakes, cats and insects. He’s also working on software for people who fear public speaking.

Fear of Spiders has sold across the world, including France, Great Britain and Portugal. Piercey said it takes about six months before an app gains a reputation in the app store, but he’s hopeful given the success it has already. It was also recently submitted to the Mac store.

Piercey entered his company CyberPsych in the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation’s (NBIF) Breakthrough Competition for new entrepreneurs, in which 30 companies pitch their business plans. CyberPsych was one of six finalists. On March 10, the New NBIF will be releasing a two minute video online about each company for a viewer’s choice award. The company with most votes will win a spot on Dragon’s Den, a show on CBC for aspiring entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas to a panel in hopes of winning start-up money. To vote, visit www.nbif.ca/eng/breakthru/.

On March 16 Piercey will pitch his ideas to a Dragon’s Den-style panel of three judges for one of three winning prizes.

The top prize is $100,000 and $45,000 in consulting, accountants and lawyers, and the two second place prizes are $50,000 each plus another $20,000 for consulting. The winners will be announced at the awards gala later that evening.