Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy Versus Exposure in Vivo for Social Phobia

VU University of Amsterdam

Status: Completed

Conditions: Social Phobia; Social Anxiety Disorder

Treatments: Behavioral: Exposure in vivo; Behavioral: Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01746667

05510207

Details and patient eligibility

About

The current study aims at comparing the efficacy of exposure in vivo and exposure via virtual reality for social anxiety disorder. 70 patients with social anxiety disorder will be randomized to either one of the active conditions or to a waiting-list condition. Participants on the waiting-list will be offered either exposure in vivo of in virtual reality after a waiting period of five weeks. Levels of psychopathology will be assessed at pre- and post-treatment as well as three and 12 months after treatment.

Enrollment: 70 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 65 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• 18 - 65 years old
• a primary diagnosis of social anxiety disorder as measured with the SCID
• fluency in Dutch.

Exclusion criteria

• psychotic episodes in the past, suicidal intentions or substance dependence.
• behavior therapy in the preceding one year.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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70 participants in 3 patient groups

Exposure in vivo

Experimental group

Description:

This treatment will consist of 10 sessions (twice a week) of exposure therapy based on the protocol used previously in exposure therapy for social anxiety disorder by Scholing \& Emmelkamp (1993).

Treatment:

Behavioral: Exposure in vivo

Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy

Experimental group

Description:

This treatment consists of 10 sessions (twice a week) of exposure therapy by using virtual environments. The difference between the exposure in vivo and virtual reality exposure therapy is the exposure component, which will be delivered in vivo in one condition and through the Head Mounted Display (HMD) in the other condition.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy

Wait-list

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants on the wait-list will be offered either exposure in vivo or in virtual reality after a waiting period of five weeks.