Barbara Rothbaum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Barbara Rothbaum
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Psychology |
| Institutions | Emory University |
Barbara Rothbaum is a psychologist who works at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. A psychologist is a scientist who studies the human mind and behavior. She is a professor in the Psychiatry department. This means she teaches and researches how to help people with mental health challenges.
Dr. Rothbaum is known for her important work in treating problems like anxiety. She helped create new ways to help people who feel very worried or scared.
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Helping People with Anxiety
Dr. Rothbaum leads two special programs at Emory University. One is called the Trauma and Anxiety Recovery Program (TARP). This program helps people who have experienced very stressful events. The other is the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program. This program helps military veterans who are dealing with similar issues.
Virtual Reality Therapy
In the mid-1990s, Dr. Rothbaum started a company called Virtually Better, Inc. This company uses something called virtual reality (VR) to help people. Imagine putting on a special headset that makes you feel like you are in a different place.
Instead of going to a real place that might make them anxious, patients can experience it safely in VR. For example, someone afraid of heights might "walk" on a virtual bridge. This helps them learn to manage their fears. Therapists can control what happens in the virtual world, making it a safe way to practice facing fears.
Understanding PTSD
Dr. Rothbaum also played a big part in developing treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD can happen to people after they go through a very scary or shocking event. It can make them feel anxious, have bad memories, or avoid certain things. Her work has helped many people learn to cope with and recover from PTSD.
Leading in Her Field
From 2004 to 2005, Dr. Rothbaum was the president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. This is a group of experts from all over the world. They work together to understand and treat the effects of trauma. Being president shows how important her work is in this field.
