Abstract
This study focuses on the need for the support that is required from the Information and Communication Technologies to the psychotherapeutic processes related to PTSD, which are treated based on the internationally standardized clinical diagnoses in the DSM- V and CIE 10, These are dictated by expert psychotherapists. Immersive virtual reality (IVR) is today a technology that supports the implementation of interactive applications in psychological rehabilitation, becoming very important in exposure therapies as support in PTSD treatment protocols, supported by the techniques of user-centered design for building applications.
The objectives of this research are based on demonstrating the importance of a good specification of the Information Architecture (IA), in the experience and results obtained by the user who undergoes PTSD treatment, supported by IVR. The requirements of the IA are analyzed to ensure that the patient achieves the feeling of complete immersion and that this is consistent with the requirements of cognitive behavioral exposure therapies. Finally, preliminary results of the application of prototypes are shown through usability tests to verify the ease of learning and utility established in the design science validation method.
As a result of this research, it is established that the definition of adequate IA, contributes significantly to the reduction of defense mechanisms, such as over jump and avoidance, which are present in the majority of people who present with PTSD.