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

Meyerbröker, Katharina; Morina, Nexhmedin

doi:10.1002/cpp.2623

Cited by 25 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“…The effectiveness of ET for specific phobias in general can be explained by several factors. In early studies, the emotional processing theory by Foa and Kozak [23] served as an explanation [9]. Foa and Kozak [23] showed that in exposure, (1) the fear response has to be activated, then (2) a habituation (decrease) of fear will take place gradually, and (3) the initial reaction to the feared situation or object will decrease over several sessions.…”

Section: Psychological Mechanisms Of Vre In Specific Phobiasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experiences of Patients and Therapists Testing a Virtual Reality Exposure App for Symptoms of Claustrophobia: Mixed Methods Study

Mayer¹,

Gronewold²,

Polte³

et al. 2022

JMIR Ment Health

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Background The effectiveness of virtual reality exposure (VRE) in the treatment of anxiety disorders is well established. Several psychological mechanisms of VRE have been identified, whereby both emotional processing and the sense of presence play a key role. However, there are only few studies that contribute to our knowledge of examples of implementation in the case of VRE for claustrophobia based on patients' experiences and the perspective of therapists. Objective This study asks for key elements of a VRE app that are necessary for effective exposure for people with claustrophobic symptoms. Methods A mixed methods design was applied in which patients (n=15) and therapeutic experts (n=15) tested a VRE intervention of an elevator ride at 5 intensity levels. Intensity was varied by elevator size, duration of the elevator ride, and presence of virtual humans. Quantitative measures examined self-reported presence with the Igroup Presence Questionnaire (IPQ) ranging from 0 to 6 and 15 Likert-scaled evaluation items that had been developed for the purpose of this study, ranging from 1 to 5. In both measures, higher scores indicate higher levels of presence or agreement. Think-aloud protocols of the patients and semistructured interviews posttreatment of all participants were conducted to gain in-depth perspectives on emotional processes. Results The intervention induced a feeling of presence in patients and experts, posttreatment scores showed a high IPQ presence score (mean 3.84, SD 0.88), with its subscores IPQ spatial presence (mean 4.53, SD 1.06), IPQ involvement (mean 3.83, SD 1.22), and IPQ experienced realism (mean 2.75, SD 1.02). Patients preferred a setting in the presence of a therapist (mean 4.13, SD 0.83) more than the experts did (mean 3.33, SD 1.54). Think-aloud protocols of the patients revealed that presence and anxiety both were achieved. Qualitative interviews of patients and experts uncovered 8 topics: feelings and emotions, personal story, telepresence, potential therapeutic effects, barriers, conditions and requirements, future prospects, and realization. The intensity levels were felt to appropriately increase in challenge, with ambivalent results regarding the final level. Virtual humans contributed to feelings of fear. Conclusions Key elements of a VRE app for claustrophobic symptoms should include variation of intensity by adding challenging cues in order to evoke presence and anxiety. Virtual humans are a suitable possibility to make the intervention realistic and to provide a sense of closeness; however, some of the fears might then be related to symptoms of social phobia or agoraphobia. Patients may need the physical presence of a therapist, though not all of them share this view. A higher degree of sophistication in the intensity levels is needed to deliver targeted help for specific symptoms of anxiety.

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Section: Psychological Mechanisms Of Vre In Specific Phobiasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experiences of Patients and Therapists Testing a Virtual Reality Exposure App for Symptoms of Claustrophobia: Mixed Methods Study

Mayer¹,

Gronewold²,

Polte³

et al. 2022

JMIR Ment Health

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“…In addition to, by breaking the pattern of avoidance behavior and increasing the individual’s belief in their own abilities and competences, VRET increases the patient’s motivation to move forward in the exposure process and thus reduces the patient’s disability [ 56 ]. In fact, people with OCD underestimate their ability to cope with fear and anxiety.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Virtual reality exposure and response prevention in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder in patients with contamination subtype in comparison with in vivo exposure therapy: a randomized clinical controlled trial

et al. 2022

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Background Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterized by disturbing and unwanted thoughts as well as repetitive and time-consuming behaviors that interfere with performance. Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) has shown to have beneficial effects on reducing OCD symptoms as the first line of treatment. Moreover, Virtual Reality (VR) has been a more feasible and accessible intervention for OCD in recent years. Regarding the point, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of virtual reality exposure and response prevention (VRERP) in the treatment of the OCD contamination subtype. Methods A total number of 36 adults with OCD-contamination subtype were registered and randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups. The intervention group received a 60-min CBT including a “contaminated” virtual environment while the control group received CBT as a standardized treatment. Out of these, 29 patients completed the treatment in 12 weekly sessions. The patients completed the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire-44(OBQ-44), and World Health Organization Disability Assessment Scale-2 (WHODAS-2) at week 0, week 12 and after 3 months follow-up. Results Based on the results of the repeated measure analysis of variances, the total score of obsession and compulsion subscales of Y-BOCS significantly decreased as a primary outcome in the intervention group (F = 60.97, P < 0.001, partial eta squared = 0.82; F = 20.46, P < 0.001, partial eta squared = 0.61; F = 29.57, P < 0.001, partial eta squared = 0.69; respectively). The total score of BDI-II and BAI was reduced in both groups but there was no significant difference between them (BDI-II: F = 0.54, P = 0.47, partial eta squared = 0.02; BAI: F = 3.12, P = 0.06, partial eta squared = 0.19). However, there was a significant difference in the OBQ-44 (F = 16.78, P < 0.001, partial eta squared = 0.56) and the total WHODAS-2 score between the groups (F = 14.64, P < 0.001, partial eta squared = 0.53). Conclusions This study demonstrated the effectiveness of VRERP in the treatment of the OCD-contamination subtype. Therefore, VRERP can be used in CBT as an alternative exposure tool. Trial registration Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials, IRCT ID: IRCT20210214050353N1, Registered on 16/10/2021.

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“…Literature data method: In order to deeply understand the application of virtual reality technology in table tennis teaching, according to the purpose and content of this research, searches on the Chinese databases: University Library, CNKI database, Wanfang academic database, and English databases: Web of Science and Science Direct, were organized and relevant data were summarized, and scientific literature visualization analysis software was used to conduct in-depth excavation of the included literature [ 18 ].…”

Section: Research Objects and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Application of Virtual Reality Technology in Sports Psychology: Theory, Practice, and Prospect

Liu

Guo

et al. 2022

Computational Intelligence and Neuroscience

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Once virtual reality technology (Virtual Reality, VR) came out, it has received a lot of attention; in recent years, it has been widely used in the study of psychology. Because it can improve the ecological validity of experimental research, the level of conditional control, reproducibility, and avoid the dangers of field operations, it has been introduced into the field of psychology by many researchers. Compared with traditional sports psychology research methods, virtual reality technology has the characteristics of multiperception, immersion, interaction, and imagination to get a better, more realistic feel and increase people's interest in sports. Taking the application of virtual reality technology in table tennis teaching in colleges and universities as an example, this study aims to review the application of virtual reality technology in sports psychology; summarize the theory, practice, and prospect of the application of virtual reality technology in sports psychology; and add new content to the research of sports psychology. It aims to review the principles, characteristics, and application of virtual reality technology in sports psychology; summarize the advantages and disadvantages of the application of virtual reality technology in sports and point out the problems that need to be paid attention to when using this method; explore the application of virtual reality technology in sports psychology; and add new content to the research of sports psychology.

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

Cited by 25 publications

References 87 publications

Experiences of Patients and Therapists Testing a Virtual Reality Exposure App for Symptoms of Claustrophobia: Mixed Methods Study

Experiences of Patients and Therapists Testing a Virtual Reality Exposure App for Symptoms of Claustrophobia: Mixed Methods Study

Virtual reality exposure and response prevention in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder in patients with contamination subtype in comparison with in vivo exposure therapy: a randomized clinical controlled trial

The Application of Virtual Reality Technology in Sports Psychology: Theory, Practice, and Prospect

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