U.S. researchers say that post-traumatic stress disorder threatens to overload healthcare systems worldwide as cases increase and therapies fail to be effective.

Editor in chief of Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking and of the Interactive Media Institute, San Diego, Dr. Brenda K. Wiederhold, says new approaches to treatment are relying on technology, such as virtual reality, to alleviate the psychologically damaging effects of PTSD.

PTSD is common in soldiers returning from combat duty and may also result from sexual or physical assault, imprisonment or hostage situations, terrorism, surviving an accident or disaster, or diagnosis with a life-threatening illness.

Wiederhold adds further that conventional approaches to treatment, including antidepressant medication and psychotherapy, yield unacceptable recovery rates. However, virtual reality has the potential to play an important role in treating survivors of mass casualty disasters.

She concludes that countries can implement this tool and the available handheld virtual reality technology as part of a comprehensive plan to respond to the mental health needs of mass casualty survivors. (With Input from Agencies)