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.

Keywords

• Phobia
• fear
• virtual reality
• exposure therapy
• systematic review

Özgül Fobilerde Sanal Gerçeklik ile Maruz Bırakma Terapisinin Etkinliği: Sistematik Bir Gözden Geçirme

Öz

Özgül fobi, günlük yaşamı ve işlevselliği önemli derecede olumsuz etkileyen belirli nesne ya da duruma yönelik belirgin ve sürekli bir korku olarak tanımlanmaktadır. Aynı zamanda, en sık görülen psikolojik bozukluklar arasında olduğu bildirilmektedir. Özgül fobilerin tedavisinde maruz bırakma temelli müdahalelerin yaygın olarak kullanıldığı bilinmekle birlikte standart yöntemlerin bazı sınırlılıklarının bulunması farklı yaklaşımlara ihtiyaç duyulduğuna işaret etmektedir. Bu çerçevede, son yıllarda psikoterapi bağlamında sanal gerçeklik teknolojisinin kullanımı giderek yaygınlaşmış ve maruz bırakma terapisi ile bütünleştirilmiştir. Bilgisayar tarafından oluşturulan üç boyutlu ortamla çeşitli teknolojik araçlar aracılığıyla gerçek zamanlı etkileşim sağlayan sanal gerçekliğin, maruz bırakma terapisi ile kullanımının özellikle özgül fobiler gibi psikopatolojilerin tedavisinde önemli bir müdahale yöntemi haline geldiği görülmektedir. Bu çalışma kapsamında, özgül fobilerin tedavisinde sanal gerçeklik ile maruz bırakma müdahaleleri sistematik olarak gözden geçirilmiştir. PRISMA yöntemi izlenerek APA (PsycINFO), EBSCO, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, Ulakbim ve TRDizin veri tabanlarında yapılan taramada dahil etme ölçütleri kapsamında; özgül fobi tanı kriterlerini karşılayan yetişkin katılımcıların yer aldığı, sanal gerçeklik ile maruz bırakma terapisinin kontrol grubuna kıyasla etkinliğinin incelendiği ve tam metnine ulaşılabilen 10 seçkisiz kontrollü çalışma bu sistematik derlemeye dahil edilmiştir. Dahil edilen makaleler örneklem özellikleri, temel ölçüm araçları, araştırma deseni, müdahalenin özellikleri ve etkisi açısından değerlendirilmiştir. Bulgular, sanal gerçeklik ile maruz bırakma terapisinin, özgül fobi belirtilerini azaltmadaki etkinliğine işaret etmektedir. Yapılan izlem çalışmaları tedavi sonuçlarının uzun vadede korunduğuna yönelik destek sağlamaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• fobi
• korku
• sanal gerçeklik
• sanal gerçeklik ile maruz bırakma terapisi
• sistematik gözden geçirme

Kaynakça

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