Recent Advances in Psychotherapy with Virtual Reality

Essoe, Joey K.-Y.; Patrick, Ainsley K.; Reynolds, Katlyn; Schmidt, Abigael; Ramsey, Kesley A.; McGuire, Joseph F.

doi:10.1016/j.ypsc.2022.04.001

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 72 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Indeed, out of 220 exposure therapists surveyed, 94% endorsed some di culty utilizing exposures in CBT sessions (Patrick et al, 2022), with other reports also document similar challenges using exposures in treatment (Reid et al, 2017). Therefore, there is a strong need to develop innovative therapeutic solutions to facilitate and/or increase the completion of exposures in CBT for youth with anxiety disorders (Essoe et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…VR can be accessed through multiple technology platforms, including: (1) phones with cardboard view nder headsets (e.g., Google cardboard app); (2) virtual environments displayed on a computer monitor with joystick navigation systems (e.g., rst-person video games); (3) virtual environments that are visually projected onto screen walls in an enclosed space (i.e., Cave Automatic Virtual Environment [CAVE] system); and (4) head mounted displays with hand-held controllers (e.g., Oculus Quest VR system). Advancements in technology have increased the accessibility and usability of immersive VR (Essoe et al, 2022). Research focusing speci cally on immersive VR exposures has demonstrated e cacy in adults with anxiety disorders (Carl et al, 2019 Towards this goal, we examined the use of VR exposures in the treatment of youth with anxiety disorders.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Immersive Virtual Reality Exposures for the Treatment of Childhood Anxiety

Ramsey,

Essoe,

Boyle

et al. 2023

Child Psychiatry Hum Dev

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Exposure-based cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) has demonstrated e cacy and is recommended as a front-line treatment for childhood anxiety. Unfortunately, challenges exist that impact the effective implementation of exposure-based CBT in clinical practice. One of the primary challenges is the accessibility and availability of exposure stimuli (e.g., spiders, storms, heights) in CBT sessions.Immersive virtual reality (VR) has shown promise as a scalable and sustainable solution to address this clinical need, but remains largely untested in youth with anxiety disorders. Here, we examine the use of VR exposures in the treatment of youth with an anxiety disorder (i.e., speci c phobias). We aimed to investigate: (1) the feasibility and initial e cacy of VR exposures; (2) whether VR exposures elicit changes in physiological arousal and/or subjective distress; and (3) whether habituation serves as a mechanism across physiological and subjective outcomes for VR exposures. Three youth and their parents completed a clinical evaluation, which was followed by a one session treatment (OST) with VR exposures. Afterward, youth and parents completed clinical assessments one-week and one-month after treatment. Immersive VR exposures were found to be feasible and demonstrated initial e cacy for reducing anxiety severity. Additionally, VR exposures elicited changes in both physiological and subjective outcomes. Finally, physiological habituation to VR exposures was observed among participants who exhibited treatment response at follow-up. Collectively, these ndings demonstrate preliminary evidence that VR exposures are feasible, tolerable, and effective for treating youth with anxiety.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%