Efficacy of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy in the Treatment of Specific Phobias: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Specific phobia is defined as a notable and continuous fear of a certain object or a situation that particularly impairs daily life and functioning. It is also one of the most common psychological disorders. Exposure-based interventions are commonly used in the treatment of specific phobias. However, some limitations of the standard methods require the need for alternative approaches. In light of this, the use of virtual reality technology in psychotherapy has become increasingly widespread in recent years and is now integrated with exposure therapy. Virtual reality provides real-time interaction using the computer-generated three-dimensional environment via variety oftechnological tools. Applications of virtual reality in exposure therapy have proven to be an important intervention method, especially in the psychopathologies such as specific phobias. In this study, virtual reality exposure therapy for the treatment of specific phobias is systematically reviewed. Inclusion criteria were taken into account in the scanning performed in APA (PsycINFO), EBSCO, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, Ulakbim ve TRDizin databses following the PRISMA method. Following that, ten randomized controlled trials, which included adult participants meeting the diagnostic criteria for specific phobia, examined the efficacy of virtual reality and exposure therapy compared to the control group, and the ones with full text could be accessed, were included in this systematic review. The included studies were evaluated in terms of sample attributes, primary measurement tools, research design, characteristics of the intervention and its efficacy. In general, the findings indicate the efficacy of virtual reality exposure therapy in reducing specific phobia symptoms. Follow-up studies support the long-term maintenance of the results.