According to a study, virtual reality app treatment is effective in reducing common phobias.
According to the trial’s findings, patients’ phobia symptoms decreased by 75% as a result of the programme.
The University of Otago in New Zealand tested a virtual reality application, and the results were encouraging in terms of participants’ common phobias being reduced. Patients with phobias were studied as part of the trial using a headset and a smartphone application treatment programme. It combines cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and virtual reality (VR) 360-degree exposure therapy (CBT). 129 people participated in the six-week randomised controlled trial from May 2021 to December 2021.
All of the participants, who ranged in age from 18 to 64, reported having a fear of either dogs, flying, heights, or needles. As part of the trial, they were required to download the oVRcome smartphone application, which is entirely self-guided. By connecting with a headset, the application gave patients an immersive experience.
According to Cameron Lacey, Associate Professor at the Department of Psychological Medicine, who oversaw the trial, “the oVRcome app involves what’s called “exposure therapy,” a type of CBT that exposes participants to their specific phobias in brief bursts in order to increase their tolerance to the phobia in a clinically-approved and controlled manner.
The trial’s findings, which were published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, revealed that after the programme, the patients’ phobia symptoms had decreased by 75%. According to Lacey, throughout the course of the trial, participants with all five types of phobias saw improvements in the severity of their phobia. It was discovered that patients’ average severity scores had dropped from 28/40 to 7/40.
After the trial period, “some participants reported significant progress in overcoming their phobias, with one feeling confident enough to now book an overseas family vacation, another lining up for a COVID vaccine, and another reporting they now felt confident not only knowing there was a spider in the house but that they might be able to remove it themselves,” remarked Lacey.
The application programme included typical CBT elements like relaxation, psychoeducation, cognitive techniques, a relapse prevention model, and exposure via virtual reality. Throughout the programme, patients were given the option to choose their own exposure levels from a vast library of VR videos.
Because multiple phobias were tested at once, the application and headsets used were economical, leading researchers to believe that the trial was the first of its kind. The application offers hope for the development of practical, at-home phobia treatment methods.