Virtual Reality in Treatment for Psychological Problems in First-Line Health care Professionals Fighting COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Virtual reality therapy (VRT) is a new psychotherapeutic approach integrating virtual reality technology and psychotherapy. This case series aimed to study effectiveness of VRT in treating psychological problems. We described four cases of first-line health care professionals with emerging clinically significant early psychological problems during the COVID-19 outbreak, and specifically received the VRT treatment. We compared the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 items (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), PHQ-15, and Athens Insomnia Scale to evaluate psychological symptoms and sleep quality before and after sessions. All four cases showed a reduction in scale comparison. General scores of the PHQ-9 reduced 65%, GAD-7 reduced 52.17%, PHQ-15 decreased 38.17%, and scores of the Athens Insomnia Scale reduced 67.44%. Meanwhile, a reduction in depression, anxiety, psychosomatic, and sleeping symptoms was also found, which decreased 76.92% in general. These results are highly significant statistically. This case series demonstrated the effectiveness of VRTon psychological problems as a promising approach to apply on various psychological distress and disorders.

Psychotherapies and Psychological Support for Individuals Facing Psychological Distress during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review

“…The subjects and participants in the articles we included in this study were categorized as follows: patients with COVID-19 (n = 4, 22%) [20, 21, 23, 25], patients that had recovered from COVID-19 (n = 1, 6%) [16], citizens (n = 5, 28%) [15, 17, 20, 24, 29], caregivers (n = 4, 22%) [18, 27, 30, 31], and healthcare workers (n = 4, 22%) [19, 20, 22, 26]. Moreover, there were two cases falling under the category of "others": clients at a clinic (n = 1) [28] and refugees (n = 1) [14].…”

“…The distribution of psychotherapies and psychological support was as follows: humanistic psychological support (n = 3, 17%) [16–18], virtual reality therapy (n = 2, 11%) [20, 26], telephone support (n = 2, 11%) [25, 27], mindfulness (n = 3, 17%) [22, 23, 26], ACT (n = 3, 17%) [15, 30, 32], CBT (n = 4, 22%) [15, 24, 28, 32], and others (n = 4, 22%): Problem Management Plus (n = 1) [14], EMDR therapy (n = 1) [19], parenting intervention (n = 1) [31], and video-based psychotherapy (n = 1) [23] (see Figure 2).…”

“…The distribution of the types of intervention trials was as follows: validation of feasibility (n = 6, 33%) [20, 23-26, 31], RCTs (n = 6, 33%) [14, 15, 20, 22, 27, 30], established existing intervention (n = 7, 39%) [16, 18-21, 28, 29], and others (n = 1, exploratory-descriptive design, 6%) [17] (see Figure 2).…”

“…The distribution of psychotherapies and psychological support was as follows: humanistic psychological support (n = 3, 17%) [16][17][18], virtual reality therapy (n = 2, 11%) [20,26],…”

“…telephone support (n = 2, 11%) [25,27], mindfulness (n = 3, 17%) [22,23,26], ACT (n = 3, 17%) [15,30,32], CBT (n = 4, 22%) [15,24,28,32], and others (n = 4, 22%): Problem Management Plus (n = 1) [14], EMDR therapy (n = 1) [19], parenting intervention (n = 1) [31], and video-based psychotherapy (n = 1) [23] (see Figure 2).…”