Augmented Reality Exposure Therapy for Cynophobia

Koç University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Phobia Animal

Treatments: Behavioral: Augmented Reality Exposure Therapy Based on ExposXR software

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05333783

2022.034.IRB3.006

Details and patient eligibility

About

The feasibility study for the Augmented Reality Exposure Therapy for Cynophobia will be carried out for people with dog phobia. This feasibility study's sample will be adults living in Turkey. The informed consent form and demographic form will be sent to the participants who have given this approval. Those who are eligible will be invited to diagnostic interviews. Those participants who meet the inclusion criteria will be included in the feasibility study. 22 participants are expected to participate in this study. The phobia severity will be measured three times: once before and twice after the intervention.

Full description

Specific phobia is an overwhelming fear of an object, place, situation, feeling or animal. For the treatment of specific phobias, exposure therapy is accepted as the most effective way to treat the patients and it is frequently used by psychiatrists and psychotherapists. To treat specific phobias using exposure therapy, the patients are exposed to their feared objects or situations in a safe and controlled environment while they are guided and accompanied by a therapist. It is not always possible to conduct in vivo treatment however, due to a number of reasons such as the feared objects being unavailable, cost-effectiveness, patients with extremely high anxiety etc. Results of the former studies revealed that specific phobias can be treated using Augmented Reality (AR) where patients are exposed to virtually created feared objects in real life context. There are limited studies that have been conducted to test the effectiveness of AR because it is a newly developed technology. Former studies used AR to treat phobia of smaller object such as fear of cockroaches, insects and spiders. The current study aims to test whether AR is a successful tool that can be utilized as a treatment option for people with specific disorders. More specifically, we aim to test the effectiveness of Augmented Reality Exposure Therapy (ARET) in the treatment of patients with cynophobia, i.e., fear of dogs.

Enrollment: 18 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Clinician-confirmed Dog Phobia
• Scoring 10 or higher on the Specific Phobia Scale (Adult version)

Exclusion criteria

• Psychosis and/or Substance Use Disorder
• Epileptic Seizure History
• Uncorrected Visual Impairment

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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18 participants in 2 patient groups

Augmented Reality Exposure Therapy Based on ExposXR software

Experimental group

Description:

The intervention arm will receive the assigned intervention in one session. Participants will be called for 2 times for post-assessment.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Augmented Reality Exposure Therapy Based on ExposXR software

Treatment as Usual

No Intervention group

Description:

The control arm has no intervention. However, the participants are not given any instruction limiting their encounters with the phobic stimuli. The participants in the control arm will receive the intervention after the post-assessments are completed.