The latest form of cognitive behavioral therapy, virtual reality therapy has been developing in France since 2012, in both university hospitals and private practices. Patients receiving this therapy are immersed in a digitally created environment, using a virtual reality headset, in order to be exposed to their phobias. How does the introduction of technical objects such as the virtual reality headset affect and transform the care relationship between the patient and the therapist? Based on an ethnographic study conducted between 2012 and 2018 in the psychiatric unit of a French university hospital, this article outlines the emergence of virtual reality therapy, describes how it operates, and analyzes how it shapes the patient-therapist relationship. I argue that this device—namely virtual reality therapy—promotes a new therapeutic style in psychiatry, whose format and therapeutic indications align with the requirements of evidence-based medicine.

虚拟现实疗法是认知行为疗法的最新形式，自 2012 年以来一直在法国的大学医院和私人诊所中发展。接受这种治疗的患者使用虚拟现实耳机沉浸在数字化创建的环境中，以暴露他们的恐惧症。虚拟现实耳机等技术对象的引入如何影响和改变患者与治疗师之间的护理关系？本文基于 2012 年至 2018 年在法国一所大学医院精神科进行的一项人种学研究，概述了虚拟现实疗法的出现，描述了它的运作方式，并分析了它如何塑造患者与治疗师的关系。我认为这种设备——即虚拟现实疗法——促进了精神病学的一种新的治疗方式，其形式和治疗适应症符合循证医学的要求。