One of life’s little pleasures is cold ice cream on a hot summer afternoon. My family and I decided to visit a local ice cream parlor knowing that a cone of cookies and cream would hit the spot. We pulled up and immediately noticed a huge dog sitting outside at one of the parlor’s tables with his human parent. I do mean huge—he could have been a small horse! Drawn to the novelty, we could not resist walking over and asking to say hi. Neptune, the Great Dane, was friendly and calm and welcomed the pets of strangers.

After a few moments of enjoying our ice cream at a nearby table, I could understand why. Everyone who pulled up noticed him, and everyone who noticed him went over to see him. Neptune and his parent were at ease during the meet and greets—I’m sure the puddles of melted ice cream on the sidewalk didn’t hurt. Then I noticed that one family’s experience was different. Like everyone else, they had marveled at Neptune’s size and commented excitedly while walking toward him. But a girl in the family had other plans. She pulled on her mom’s hand to slow her down. She resisted her mom’s coaxing to meet the dog. As her family approached more closely, she dropped her mom’s hand and covered her face. She protested and wouldn’t take another step forward. Eventually, her family said goodbye to Neptune and made its way into the ice cream parlor.

As the girl and her family went on with their day, my mind started buzzing with excitement about how virtual reality therapy will be able to help so many children like that little girl. It might be a fear of dogs—it could be cats or spiders or even the dark. There are many fears that can’t always be addressed in traditional therapy, but are the perfect applications for virtual reality therapy. Whether it’s a fear of closed spaces, flying, or heights, very challenging scenarios are available instantaneously. Following sessions of therapy using exposure to a dog in virtual reality, the girl could be confident and ready to meet a dog in real life. The next chance encounter with a small horse at the ice cream parlor could be no big deal—she could let go of her fear and stay focused on the simple joy of ice cream on a hot day.