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Full Spectrum Warrior Helps P.T.S.D.

Posted by Jonathan Hunt - Monday, May 12, 2008 2:53 PM

Full Spectrum Warrior, after failing in its initial design, seems to be finding a new purpose, by aiding US veterans overcome Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in a new experimental treatment program, named Virtual Iraq.



Released in 2004 for the Xbox and PC (and the PS2 in 2005), Full Spectrum Warrior made waves in the press by being a game developed in association with the US Army for use as a training tool for active military personnel. The Army ended up never using Full Spectrum Warrior to train, but now, with the development of Virtual Iraq, a modified version of Warrior is helping recently returned soldiers cope with the sights, sounds, and pressures of war through a kind of immersion therapy.

In a recent feature for The New Yorker, writer Sue Halpern explores one soldier's experiences with dealing with P.T.S.D. by forcing himself to relive the environments of war again and again. The treatment is still far too new for any conclusions to be drawn, but we could be looking into another area, where videogames can actually do more good than solely entertain.

The New Yorker: Virtual Iraq

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TAGS: PC Gaming, Videogames

Comment(s)

Posted by DamienHell - Monday, May 12, 2008 3:37 PM
wait wait wait, I don't think I get this, we're curing peope traumatised by war by putting them in a virtual war? I think thats a bad idea
Posted by Mr_Eko_73 - Monday, May 12, 2008 3:40 PM
Thats a complete reversal from this intital story -Posted by Stephen Johnson:
A Florida ex Marine has been missing for more than a week, and relatives think it might be partly because of Call of Duty 4.
The injured Iraqi war veteran is a victim of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and last week, after playing COD 4, he said he "had to get out," left his home and has not been seen since.
The suspicion is Eric W. Hall is not injured; he just doesn't particularly feel like being found. "He's a Marine," said Courtney Birge, who is married to Hall's cousin, "He knows how to survive off the land and find food. We don't feel he is dead. We want him back with us."
Charlotte County sheriff's officials found Hall's motorcycle last Sunday at Sulstone Drive and Pasadena Terrace. A neighbors heard a man yelling in the woods near that area, a fire was set, and authorities found a cigarette butt near the fire and said Hall smokes that brand. But other than that, no clues.....
Posted by Bellamorte - Monday, May 12, 2008 5:23 PM
There is no cure for PTSD. You just learn to live with it.
Posted by gamebrain89 - Monday, May 12, 2008 5:56 PM
correction bellamorte. There is no cure at the moment. who knows what could happen with technology and medical research happenning right now. PTSD is a mental disorder, and there are treatments for many mental disorders. just because there is no cure at the moment, does not mean it is not treatable.
Posted by BobBobson108 - Monday, May 12, 2008 7:35 PM
Obviously NONE of your have played Full Spectrum Warrior. It's not an FPS like COD4, it's a strategy game. A terrible one, but one that requires real strategy (which is most likely why I like COD4 better :D) but it's not as gritty as COD4 is. And because it is a third person strategy game, you become less involved in it than you would an FPS.
Posted by Bellamorte - Tuesday, May 13, 2008 4:12 AM
gamebrain89, I've been through therapy for it. You're taught coping strategies.

In my experience, games bring a fleeting distraction.

I hold more hope for this:

http://www.maps.org/mdma/
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