The invention relates to the field of
medicine, psychology and psychotherapy, as well as to computer
information technology. It is based on the 8-phase psychotherapy technique of F. Shapiro for treating stress and post-traumatic stress disorder in patients. The technique involves eight consecutive phases (EMDR Association (
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), https: / / emdr.ru / news / 2018 / emdr-terapiya-obzor-razvitiya-i-mekhanizmy-deystviya). The prototype of the claimed invention is the method described in 'Intelligent virtual environment for treating
anxiety exploring the
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing technique' (https: / / www.researchgate.net / publication / 357606075_Intelligent_virtual_environment_for_treati ng_
anxiety_exploring_the_Eye_Movement_Desensitization_and_Reprocessing_technique). A
disadvantage of the prototype is that
artificial intelligence is used in a limited fashion merely to determine the level of
anxiety and adjust the movement of the ball in accordance therewith, and to
record information. Furthermore, the prototype presupposes the involvement of a therapist, albeit to a lesser extent than in the previous version. A virtual therapist interacts with patients by means of speech, and responses to questions from a real therapist, in addition to anxiety level and
heart rate, must be logged by the real therapist with the aid of a keyboard during communication with patients in
virtual reality. A further
disadvantage of the prototype is its focus on solving a limited number of patient problems (relieving stress and PTSD), i.e. only one protocol is used, and the fact that it cannot be used without the involvement of a therapist. The prototype is unable to provide a
diagnostic assessment of problematic states of a wide range of psychological problems, select a corrective protocol, monitor the effectiveness of correction, and propose additional methods of correction. The claimed invention solves the technical problem of broadening the range of negative and problematic states that can be diagnosed (not just the level of PTSD) and making it possible to select and implement the specific protocol required to correct the problem identified, as well as to assess the effectiveness of correction and to propose additional solutions, wherein all of these aims are achieved without involving a therapist. A significant defining feature of the proposed method is the possibility of identifying a problem state in an initial step and selecting a suitable
software-automated protocol tailored to each identified category of problem.