Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Claustrophobia : Evaluating usability and usefulness by clinicians

Helle, Jarle; Heldal, Ilona; Soleim, Harald; Geitung, Atle Birger; Larsen, Thomas Fiskeseth

doi:10.1109/cvr55417.2022.9967569

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 18 publications

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“…Helle et al. (2022) highly recommend the integration of VR in treating individuals with claustrophobia. Daulay (2020) developed a VR program to treat claustrophobia and recommended its usage.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of virtual reality exposure therapy on anxiety symptoms and physiological measures among individuals experiencing claustrophobia

El‐Qirem,

Malak,

Abualruz

et al. 2024

Couns and Psychother Res

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IntroductionInnovative technologies, including virtual reality (VR), can be used for conducting VR exposure therapy (VRET) for individuals with psychiatric disorders, including claustrophobia. Unfortunately, there is a lack of studies on the effect of VR in treating claustrophobia in Arab countries, including Jordan. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of VRET on minimising anxiety symptoms at 1 week post‐therapy and the physiological arousal measures (heart rate, O2 saturation and mean arterial pressure) of participants before and following therapy.MethodsA pre‐/post‐test one‐group design was used, and participants (N = 44) who suffered from claustrophobia from Al‐Zaytoonah University of Jordan were recruited. VRET was conducted using the Cave experience, which consists of four stages and was carried out in 4 to 6 sessions during the period from April to September 2023.ResultsThe findings revealed a significant difference between pre‐ and post‐VR simulation intervention for anxiety symptoms and physiological measures; in addition, the participants perceived the usability of VR therapy.ConclusionThis study suggested that VRET was effective in managing claustrophobia, particularly in minimising anxiety symptoms. Therefore, VRET can be integrated into the therapeutic methods for individuals with claustrophobia. Also, healthcare professionals, including mental health counsellors, can adopt such therapy in their management and treatment plan.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%