The Shrink Is In- The Podcast Voice of Psychology

 Dr. Gurr and Dr. Elliott talk with Dr. Elizabeth McMahon about Virtutal Reality Therapy- how it is used for exposure therapy and its trajectory for the future of therapy. 

Dr. McMahon specializes in evidence-based treatment for anxiety and has been using virtual reality (VR) with clients since 2010. She currently provides training and consultation on VR exposure therapy (VRET), benefits and risks of VR, integrative cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for panic, anxiety, and fears, interoceptive exposure, and related topics. 

Her book Virtual Reality Therapy for Anxiety: A Guide for Therapists (with D. Boeldt, PhD) explains how mental health professionals can use VR in treating a wide range of anxiety disorders. Research supporting VR therapy is summarized. Case examples bring the information to life. The book is part of Stanford Virtual Reality Immersive Technology's training curriculum. 

Her webinar “Virtual Reality (VR) for Anxiety and Phobia Treatment” is available on www.PESI.com. 

For more information see www.Elizabeth-McMahon.com, www.overcoming.guide, and www.virtualrealitytherapyforanxiety.com/.

Joe Elliott, PhD is a licensed mental health provider and owner of Joe Elliott Psychological Services in Galveston, Texas (www.galvestonpsych.com), with nearly three decades’ experience as a psychotherapist, evaluator, and behavioral science researcher. He previously coordinated research at the anxiety disorders clinics of the University of Houston and University of Texas Mental Sciences Institute, and at the Eyewitness Testimony research lab at Sam Houston State Univ. He also worked at the University of Texas Medical Branch where he was the Mental Health Manager for the Texas NeuroAIDS Research Center, supervising and doing neuropsychological testing at one of only four NIH-sponsored “brain banks” (tissue repositories). 

He is trained in Criterion-Based Content Analysis (CBCA), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and in Prolonged Exposure Therapy. He has been providing VR mental health applications since 2021, and is the first practitioner to deploy the IDEGO VR treatment suite in the US.

 Dr. Howard Gurr is a practicing psychologist on Long Island, New York. He specializes in helping patients with varying types of anxiety and phobias. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Gurr has been podcasting about psychologically related issues since 2006 at https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/drgurr, and he was the co-host for both the New York State Psychological Association and the Suffolk County Psychological Association podcasts.

Since 2016, Dr. Gurr has been using VR for exposure therapy and to help patients reduce stress and increase mindfulness. He continues to work with VR companies all over the world, providing webinar training, consultation, and beta testing. He is currently an “ambassador” for Amelia Virtual Care/XR Health. He has also created an online directory of therapists who utilize virtual reality therapy in their practices, www.vrttherapists.com, to help bring awareness of the benefits of virtual reality therapy for behavioral health to the general public, improve the sharing of information between providers, and function as a tool to help clinicians and the public locate virtual reality therapists worldwide.

To see the full video version of this interview go to
https://youtu.be/iRFg4ip31UQ

Dr. Gurr talks with Erica Kaitz about VR Therapy, and Amelia/XR Health. Erica Kaitz, LCSW has been working in the field of behavioral health since 2010. Erica began their career as a Primary Therapist at HHC in 2010, followed by a role as a Staff Therapist at Community Counseling Centers of Chicago, Emergency Services in 2012. In 2013, they began working for Aetna as a Clinical Case Manager and Clinical Supervisor. In 2016, they took on the role of Behavioral Health Director at Cigna-HealthSpring, and in 2018, they became the Manager of Clinical Operations at Prealize Health. Most recently, in 2022, Erica Kaitz became the Vice President of Behavioral Health at Amelia Virtual Care.

Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzGVcMvsRlU&t=31s to see the full video version of this podcast.

Dr. Howard Gurr and Mr. Andrew Colsky, Licensed Mental Health Counselor and entrepreneur, talk about Virtual reality Exposure Therapy and his new VR platform. Mr. Colsky is a licensed mental health counselor treating OCD and anxiety disorders in both Virginia and Florida through his practice which can be found at www.stopmyocd.com. His practice includes the use of exposure therapy. In order to facilitate his own practice needs, he founded Prescription XRT (www.rxxrt.com), a first-of-its-kind exposure therapy platform. He is planning to provide access to all exposure therapists so they may conduct therapy using lifelike exposures virtually anywhere.

To see the video  of this conversation go to https://youtu.be/vrWC9vw0K6c

Today I am talking with Dr. Joe Elliot about our respective uses of VR in our clinical practices. Joe Elliott, PhD is a licensed mental health provider and owner of Joe Elliott Psychological Services in Galveston, Texas (www.galvestonpsych.com), with nearly three decades’ experience as a clinician, evaluator, and behavioral science researcher. He previously coordinated research at the anxiety disorders clinics of the University of Houston and University of Texas Mental Sciences Institute, and at the Eyewitness Testimony research lab at Sam Houston State Univ. He is Mental Health Manager at the Texas NeuroAIDS Research Center, one of four NIH-sponsored “brain banks” (tissue repositories) in the US. Joe has a Master’s in Clinical Psychology and a PhD in Cognition and Instruction Psychology. He received training in Criterion-Based Content Analysis (CBCA), Prolonged Exposure Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). He has been providing VR mental health applications since 2021, and is the first practitioner to deploy the IDEGO treatment suite in the US.

to see the video of this podcast go to Dr. Howard Gurr Talks with Dr. Kim Bullock about Virtual Reality Therapy - YouTube.

Dr. Bullock received her undergraduate degree with honors and distinction in physiology and psychology from the University of California, San Diego, Revelle College and her medical degree from George Washington University in Washington, DC. She completed an internship in internal medicine at Washington Hospital in D.C. and a psychiatry residency at Stanford University. She is a diplomat in the subspecialties of Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry and Lifestyle Medicine. She is currently appointed Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences within Stanford’s School of Medicine. Dr. Bullock is the founder and Director of Stanford's Neurobehavioral Clinic and Virtual Reality & Immersive Technologies (VRIT) program and laboratory. She also is a leader and pioneer in telehealth services using XR. She has published many peer-reviewed articles and is a Cambridge and Oxford Press author on the subject of functional neurological disorders. Her primary clinical research interest is exploring the use of technology for trauma treatment and psychiatric illnesses involving disruption of bodily perception and function. She is currently focused on the use and dissemination of immersive technologies for telepsychiatry as well as its use in augmentation of physiotherapy, psychotherapy, and skills acquisition. She treats a multitude of illness domains including trauma, phobias, anxiety, pain, mood disorders, and somatic symptom-related disorders. She also provides support and connects researchers, providers, and developers of immersive technology through the Stanford Psychiatry Immersive Technology Consortium (SPIT-C).
Dr. Bullock currently sees patients, teaches, and performs research. She takes a holistic, customized, and personal approach to each patient and encourages family and community involvement in the treatment process. She is intensively trained and teaches both cognitive behavior therapy and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). 

Today’s podcast is a conversation between Dr. Howard Gurr and Dr. Les Posen about our use of Virtual Reality in private practice.  Check out the video version of this  conversation between Dr. Howard Gurr and Dr. Les Posen at https://youtu.be/tgvLHdAub5M 
 
 

Les is Melbourne, born-and-bred.  Educated at Monash and Melbourne Universities, he later spent time in the Austin Hospital’s Department of Psychological Medicine, where he did clinical rotations in Adult Psychiatry and Cardiology. 
 
 

With a lifelong passion for travel and commercial aviation, Les considers himself fortunate to have been supervised while at the Austin by Dr. Ida Kaplan who was Ansett Australia’s first Melbourne-based Fear of Flying Program Psychologist. He inherited the program from her in 1994 and for the next six years further developed and enhanced the program. Separate from this, he helped develop the airline’s Passenger and Crew Welfare program, training with airline staff from around the world – including United, Continental and TWA – to give him a special understanding of Crew psychology, especially enhancing resilience under stress. 
 
 

Les’s website is https://flightwise.com.au/