Pieter Rossouw at Sydney Phobia Clinic with the virtual reality headset technology Credit:Peter Rae "In the past the way that therapists would do therapy is they would get someone to imagine they were in the scenario. Here we can really bring that situation to life," says Pieter Rossouw, manager at the Sydney Phobia Clinic. "If you put on that headset, you're a patient sitting in the dentist chair, and the dentist is coming at you with the drill. And you can hear the noise. Everyone always pulls their head back." Mr Rossouw recently gave the needle simulation to one of his patients to try, and says the reaction shows VR tech is now good enough to be convincingly terrifying for phobia-sufferers. "It took her about 15 minutes just to approach the table the needle was on."

Scared of spiders? You might see this. The scenarios are designed to be as accurate as possible and were built with the consultation of medical specialists. Phobias are traditionally treated by teaching a patient coping mechanisms, and then gradually exposing them to the source of their fear. For spiders, a patient might build up to a visit to the zoo. But many people have phobias that are difficult for psychologists to expose them to, Rossouw says. That's where VR comes in. Patients use commercially available headsets coupled with proprietary simulations built by the clinic.

Guided by a psychologist they can gradually expose themselves to their fear. The first exposure might be using the headset's controller to walk into the dental surgery, a big step for some; later they can watch someone else undergo the procedure before braving it themselves. People fear dental work in part because they cannot see what the dentist is doing inside their mouth. The software's ability to let a patient watch someone else undergoing the procedure is helpful for that, Mr Rossouw says. The emergence of cheap consumer VR headsets has the potential to give sufferers the tools to treat themselves at home, says University of Melbourne VR researcher Doctor Greg Wadley. Consumer VR's rapid recent growth – Facebook released a headset in March, Google has one coming this month – means the technology's potential is ahead of the science. "The quality is really good, they are quite cheap, they are likely to be in consumers hands over the next few years. There is clearly potential in them, but the potential has not been explored. It's in the process."

Scenarios involving spiders – so many spiders, crawling all over you – heights, public transport and crowds are being tested or are already available to download and use. Meanwhile a large number of research groups are investigating potential uses for the new technology. A London-based project for example is exploring using train-station simulations to treat social anxiety. The simulated patrons can even be programmed to turn and stare at the user – helpful for treating paranoia. But Mr Rossouw says DIY tools are no match for proper clinical treatment. "It's critical the client is given skills and psycho-education to be able to handle the exposure sessions and get the most out of them," he says.

"Most people know that facing their fears is how to overcome them, but they lack the skills to do so effectively."