Critical analysis of the use of virtual technologies in clinical psychology in Europe (based on the content of the journal "Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking"

Abstract

The work is aimed at examining the use of virtual reality (VR) technologies in clinical psychology in Europe. Analyzed more than 37 issues of the journal “Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking”, which has an impact factor of 2.3, articles in which reflect both cyber- and clinical-psychological orientation. The “keyword method” was used to analyze the text, which is understood as a search for typical terms that designate a criterion or replace it. Then the keyword “virtual reality” was associated primarily with the types of disorders in clinical psychology of the classification of group F (according to ICD-10). The topics “virtual reality” and “clinical psychology” are the most frequently discussed topics in the field of the problem area “cyberpsychology”. According to the study, the possible applications of virtual reality in the field of clinical psychology are essentially limited to three disorders: anxiety disorders, depression, and autism. According to publications of specialists in general psychology, the term “virtual reality” is not mentioned, which shows that this topic is of secondary importance.