“I gained peace of mind at the idea of ​​seeing one”

Have you ever had to call friends for help in the middle of the night because a spider had just appeared in your toilet? Have you ever had to go to bed because a tegenaria had disappeared into your room? Me too. And as it became unbearable, I tried to combat my arachnophobia through group therapy centered on virtual reality (VR).

“Better understand and improve your phobia of spiders “. The subject of the email immediately caught my attention. I don’t have to think long before contacting the referenced clinical psychologist, Julien Goin. “You did well to call me quickly, because the group is already almost complete,” he replied. I still ask him if I will have to handle real spiders, he reassures me. “To treat a phobia, you have to go there very gradually and, above all, never traumatize the patient. So it’s not on the program, but if the group agrees, we can move from virtual to real during the last session.” Here I am registered. There will be six of us.

The therapy will be spread over ten hours, divided into five sessions organized in the premises of the University Psychological and Logopedic Clinic (CPLU) of ULiège. Alongside Julien Goin, Yasemin Ayhan, clinician but also university assistant. She is pursuing a doctorate there on improving the quality of life of people suffering from schizophrenia through virtual reality.

Understand where your arachnophobia comes from

The first session starts gently. Psychologists define more arachnophobia. It is linked to different factors: cultural, personal, evolutionary and psychological. You also need to know how to distinguish arachnophobia from the “simple” fear of spiders. “We talk about phobia when it impacts everyday life. A phobia causes very intense and irrational reactions», specifies Julien Goin.

“In the collective imagination, we associate unattractive human traits with the spider: ugliness, wickedness, vice. Clichés that are transmitted via films and books from childhood, explains Yasemin Ayhan. Live a traumatic experience in his youth can give rise to a phobia. The fact of having a arachnophobic parent can also playbecause what scares a mother often has the same impact on her child. Finally, on a psychological level, anxietyand more precisely the propensity to constantly avoid danger, constitute predispositions to the development of arachnophobia.

Arachnophobia could also be written in the genes. “The scientific literature is less extensive on the subject, but we think that the fear of spiders was marked among our ancestors at a time when they were really dangerous. Today, this is no longer the case in our regions, but it has remained engraved in our genetics and it sometimes manifests itself more in certain people,” reports Julien Goin.

Explanations that resonate with some arachnophobes in the room. “When I was very little, my mother used to call me and tell me that there was a surprise for me. I would run and, often, it would be a big spider. I didn’t like them and, little by little, it became a phobia,” confides Capucine, 49, administrative employee.

The participants are of all ages, but five out of six are actually… participants. Is arachnophobia more common among women? “This is what the figures show,” confirms Yasemin Ayhan. This must, however, be balanced by the fact that the expression of fear is gendered through education. In society, a man who is afraid is less well regarded. Some arachnophobes are undoubtedly less likely to declare themselves as such.

The portrait drawn by psychologists resonates among patients. “Personally, it got worse when I left my parents’ house,” says Marie, 28, secretary. Before, I knew that I could always count on someone in my family if I encountered a spider. Alone, it immediately became insurmountable. I have already had to call neighbors or friends several times to get rid of it. Because when I see one, I don’t know how to confront it. Not even kill her. In general, I become paralyzed and cry.”

All participants share the same objective: to succeed in coping alone with the object of this phobia. “You are not going to leave here wanting to adopt a spider,” smiles Julien Goin. The goal is toexpand your window of tolerance to manage to stay calm and to act accordingly when you encounter one.”

Very realistic virtual spiders

Enough chatter: room for virtual reality. The helmet on the head, a first observation: it is very realistic. Both the environment – ​​an office – and thearthropode. The program is divided into 20 levels : spiders of different sizes, under cover or not, fixed or mobile, alone or in groups. Point of suspense: no one will reach the final stages, where enormous tegenarians climb on our arms.

As the exhibitions progress, the diversity of profiles appears. “There are not different types of arachnophobia, but trigger factors vary. We can be afraid of their size, their legs, their body, their unpredictability, their movement…” explains Julien Goin.

The exposure and exchanges between arachnophobes allow each person to identify what really frightens them. “Understanding your phobia is an essential step in alleviating it, since this allows us to know which areas should be worked on,” underlines the psychologist.

“Learning about the life of a spider is also useful to me,” adds Capucine. For example, I now know that they are very fragile, that they run out of steam quickly and that they very often remain immobile. This should help me decondition.”

Revolutionary, VR?

Over the course of the sessions, everyone is exposed to increasingly larger and more mobile virtual spiders. But can VR really help you gain peace of mind when facing a real spider? “In itself, VR does not cure phobiasclarifies Julien Goin. She is only one tool for cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)a method that has been around for decades and has already proven its effectiveness. This involves developing habituation mechanisms and strategies to better manage your emotions.”

In this context, virtual reality offers several advantages. On the one hand, it offers enormous possibilities for dimming the exposure. Everyone progresses at their own pacewithout ever being faced with an unmanageable situation. On the other hand, VR favors adherence to treatment. “Many people refuse to consult because they do not want to be confronted with real spiders. Starting with virtual ones seems much more acceptable to them,” explains the clinician.

“VR is also very beneficial for feelings of self-efficacyadds Yasemin Ayhan. It allows you to accumulate small successes and enter into a virtuous circle which strengthens the patient’s confidence. If he is directly confronted with a real one and he panics, he may no longer want to continue the treatment.

Balance sheet? Positive, but uncertain

For the last sessionpsychologists provide real spiders. Reapers, not really impressive. Around a table, everyone observes them in their jar. Then Julien Goin frees them and they wander, one at a time, before our eyes. Most of us manage to put the jar back on top – which can normally be a nightmare for arachnophobes.

Mission successful? Impossible to say. Everyone is convinced of the benefits of therapy, without being able to measure their extent. “I have the impression of being more serene at the idea of ​​seeing one. I used to look for it as soon as I walked into a room. Now, no more. I even found myself feeling sorry for a little one that I found in my home,” says Marie. “I also think it eased my fear. I now feel capable of cleaning my windows, where there are always lots of little spiders. But all the same by killing them, although I know that it is not a good thing,” continues Capucine.

For all, the ultimate test will be the next confrontation with a tegenarian. This hasn’t happened to anyone yet: at this time of year, they hide. We may have an answer within two months, during a reinforcement session. Psychologists have promised to go out of their way to get their hands on a “big hairy one” and expose us to it – always according to each person’s sensitivity.

If that is not enough, it will always remain possible to initiate individual consultations centered around real spiders, now that we’ve taken the VR step. “What you have acquired is never lost anyway,” assures Julien Goin. This is entirely true: at each session, we will all have restarted our exhibition at the level at which we stumbled the previous time.