Social interactions in virtual reality exposure therapy: A proof-of-concept pilot study

Morina, Nexhmedin; Brinkman, Willem‐Paul; Hartanto, Dwi; Kampmann, Isabel L.; Emmelkamp, Paul M. G.

doi:10.3233/thc-151014

Cited by 20 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Increasing its frequency might result in more lasting belief change. For example, the study by Morina et al (2015a) included two exposure sessions of around one hour each and found an increase in self-efficacy at a three-month follow-up measurement. Besides, the learning effect of video self-modeling or peer-modeling can usually be observed after a few weeks of video-watching sessions (Marcus & Wilder, 2009;Montgomerie et al, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-identification with a Virtual Experience and Its Moderating Effect on Self-efficacy and Presence

Kang

Ding

Riemsdijk

et al. 2020

International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction

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Effective psychological interventions for anxiety disorders often include exposure to fearful situations. However, individuals with low self-efficacy may find such exposure too overwhelming. We created a vicarious experience in virtual reality, which enables observation of one's experience from a first person perspective without actual performance and which might increase self-efficacy. With similarities to both traditional vicarious experiences and direct experiences, the level of self-identification with the experience was hypothesized to affect self-efficacy and its relationship with direct experiences. To test this, vicarious experiences with two distinct levels of self-identification were compared in a betweensubjects experiment (n ¼ 60). After being exposed to a vicarious experience of giving lectures on elementary arithmetic in front of a virtual audience with either a high or low level of selfidentification with the public speaker, participants from both conditions actively gave another lecture. The results revealed that self-identification affected people's self-efficacy after vicarious experience. They further revealed that self-identification is a moderator of (1) the correlation between perceived performance and self-efficacy, (2) the correlation between self-efficacy measured after the vicarious and the follow-up direct experience; and (3) the correlation between the sense of presence reported in the vicarious and in the follow-up direct experience. We anticipate that the first-person-perspective experiences with high-level of self-identification have the potential to be beneficial for training where changing people's self-efficacy is desirable.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-identification with a Virtual Experience and Its Moderating Effect on Self-efficacy and Presence

Kang

Ding

Riemsdijk

et al. 2020

International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction

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“…Our group has applied a virtual reality system specifically designed to expose clients with social anxiety to anxiety provoking verbal social situations. In a study, we found that two sessions of virtual exposure involving several free speech dialogues with avatars prearranged by the therapist could induce significant levels of social anxiety in university students with elevated social anxiety (Morina, Brinkman, et al, 2015 ). In a more recent study, we investigated whether a VR behavioural avoidance test (BAT) would predict social anxiety in daily life (Kampmann et al, 2018 ).…”

Section: Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of virtual reality in assessment and treatment of anxiety and related disorders

Meyerbröker

Morina

2021

Clin Psychology and Psychoth

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In recent years the development of new virtual environments has been qualitatively high and fast at the same time, but the dissemination of virtual reality (VR) in clinical practice is still scarce. The aim of this review is to give an insight into the state of the art of the use of VR as an assessment tool and treatment intervention in anxiety and related disorders as posttraumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorders.Besides an overview into the efficacy of VR, a summary will be given on assumed working mechanisms in virtual reality exposure therapy and how this aligns with current theoretical models. Further, it will be discussed how VR is accepted by patients and research into the reluctance of therapist to use this technology during treatment with focus on the therapeutic alliance and how it may be influenced by the use of VR. Finally, we discuss clinical and future issues as, for

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“…Our research team [16] investigated in participants with high levels of social anxiety the use of verbal interactions between clients and virtual humans. We applied a virtual reality system specifically designed to expose clients with social anxiety complaints to anxiety-provoking social situations.…”

Section: Virtual Social Worldsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Virtual Reality Therapy in Social Anxiety Disorder

Emmelkamp

Meyerbröker

Morina

2020

Curr Psychiatry Rep

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Purpose of Review This review provides an overview of current methods and important aspects to consider when applying virtual worlds in the treatment of social anxiety disorder (SAD). Recent Findings Different aspects such as dialogs between avatars and patients have been investigated as well as virtual audiences, emotional facial expression, and verbal interaction with avatars. Results of these studies are promising. Few randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have investigated the efficacy of virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) in SAD. Unfortunately, most RCTs into the efficacy of VRET in comparison with exposure in vivo in SAD have been conducted with a combination of cognitive interventions and VRET. No differences between these conditions were found, but the pure effect of VRET as a standalone treatment has only been investigated in one RCT, wherein VRET was not superior to exposure in vivo. Summary Current research into different facets of SAD and VRET has produced promising results with respect to technological aspects. No differences in efficacy between cognitive behavior therapy and VRET were found, but there is a clear need for studies investigating the efficacy of VRET as a stand-alone treatment and the therapeutic processes involved before this therapy can be disseminated in routine clinical practice.

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Social interactions in virtual reality exposure therapy: A proof-of-concept pilot study

Abstract: These findings indicate that virtual reality technology that incorporates social interactions may be successfully applied for therapeutic purposes.

Cited by 20 publications

References 22 publications

Self-identification with a Virtual Experience and Its Moderating Effect on Self-efficacy and Presence

Self-identification with a Virtual Experience and Its Moderating Effect on Self-efficacy and Presence

The use of virtual reality in assessment and treatment of anxiety and related disorders

Virtual Reality Therapy in Social Anxiety Disorder

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