At least that seems to be the case with the US military as they're apparently treating soldiers with post-war psychological disorders with a virtual version of the Iraq 'conflict.'
"Say for example their trauma event was being blown up in a Humvee -- we might start them off just standing in the desert next to a Humvee.
Interestingly the experience even includes mimicking aromas experienced on the battlefield. The article states:
Fake aromas -- including gunpowder, burning smoke, diesel fuel, body odors, exotic spices and roast mutton -- are wafted under the patient's nose
I seem to recall a company back in the dot com bubble days proposing to install little devices to generate and diffuse odors to surfers... perhaps they were just a few years ahead of their time. Based on what I've seen in Second Life, a resurgence of this technology might not always be a good thing.
