Professor Dr. Brenda K. Wiederhold, Ph.D., MBA, BCB, BCN
Professor Dr. Brenda K. Wiederhold, Ph.D., MBA, BCB, BCN is Co-Founder of the Virtual Reality Medical Center (VRMC), with offices in Sorrento Valley, La Jolla and Coronado, California; Qingdao, China; and Brussels, Belgium. She is on the Medical Staff at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, California and a member of the Pain and Palliative Care Committee. Professor Wiederhold is registered as a Licensed Clinical Psychologist with the California Board of Psychology, the Belgian Commission des Psychologues, and the Virginia and Arizona Boards of Psychology. Her doctorate is in Clinical Health Psychology, and she is Board Certified in both Biofeedback and Neurofeedback. She currently maintains a private practice on the Scripps Memorial Hospital Campus in La Jolla.
Dr. Wiederhold is Founder and CEO of the Interactive Media Institute, a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the application of advanced technologies for patient care; a Visiting Professor at the Catholic University in Milan and an Advisory Board Member for the International Child Art Foundation in Washington, DC.
Founder of the international CyberPsychology, CyberTherapy, & Social Networking Conference (CYPSY), now celebrating its 26th year, she also serves as Editor-in-Chief of the MedLine-indexed CyberPsychology, Behavior & Social Networking Journal (CYBER) published by Mary Ann Liebert Publishers in New York. She has over 300 scientific publications and is currently completing her 18th book. Recognized as an international leader in the treatment of stress-related disorders, burnout, pain and anxiety (panic, posttraumatic stress disorder and phobias) with Virtual Reality exposure, biofeedback and cognitive-behavioral therapy, in 1996 she conducted the first randomised controlled clinical trial using VR and biosensors to treat fear of flying. In 2006 she conducted the first randomised controlled clinical trial using VR to treat Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans suffering from PTSD. She has conducted over 10,000 VR therapy sessions and given invited lectures and training programs in 29 countries throughout Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East.
Professor Wiederhold works to inform and educate policymakers, funding agencies, world leaders, the scientific community and general public about the transformative impact technology can have on healthcare. A U.S. citizen, Dr. Wiederhold has lived and worked in Asia, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium. She consults for corporations and government agencies in the U.S. and Europe on Virtual Reality and digital therapeutics.