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

Abstract

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.

Mixed results for exposure and response prevention therapy in mixed reality for patients with contamination‐related obsessive‐compulsive disorder: A randomized controlled pilot study

“…Third, the intervention period from baseline to post assessment was very short (3 weeks), which negatively affects the reduction of OC symptoms, especially since the time criterion for the instruments was almost as long as the intervention period (e.g., the previous 2 weeks for the Y-BOCS). Additionally, the number of sessions (i.e., six) was rather low compared to other studies investigating ERP in OCD (15 sessions; Melchior et al, 2019) and technology-augmented ERP (12 sessions; Javaherirenani et al, 2022). The intervention period and the number of sessions were chosen for practical reasons (e.g., length of day or inpatient stay, economic reasons).…”