This release appeared last week:
Wednesday 13th July , 2022
Virtual Reality App shown to reduce common phobias through clinical trial in New Zealand.
Results from a New Zealand University trial suggest fresh hope for the estimated one-in-twelve people worldwide suffering from a fear of flying, needles, heights, spiders and dogs.
The trial, led by Associate Professor Cameron Lacey, from the Department of Psychological Medicine, at the University of Otago, studied phobia patients using a headset and a smartphone app treatment programme – a combination of Virtual Reality (VR) 360-degree video exposure therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
Participants downloaded a fully self-guided smartphone app called “oVRcome”, developed by New Zealand based tech entrepreneur Adam Hutchinson, aimed at treating patients with phobia and anxiety. The app, paired with a VR headset, immerses participants in virtual environments so as to relax and distract technology to help people overcome anxiety disorders and social anxiety through VR exposure therapy. Anxiety and phobias include heights, spiders, flying, dogs and dogs
The results from the trial, just published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00048674221110779 showed a 75 per cent reduction in phobia symptoms after six weeks of the treatment programme.
“The improvements they reported suggests there’s great potential for the use of VR and mobile phone apps as a means of self-guided treatment for people struggling with often-crippling phobias,” Associate Professor Lacey says.
“Participants demonstrated a strong acceptability of the app, highlighting its potential for delivering easily accessible, cost-effective treatment at scale, of particular use for those unable to access in-person exposure therapy to treat their phobias.”
Adam was inspired to develop oVRcome after becoming increasingly alarmed by mental health statistics. Recognising that accessibility was a key issue, he began working with a team of clinical psychologists to develop an accessible smart-phone based tool to help. It is estimated that up to 80% of anxiety sufferers do not seek treatment currently. Barriers include cost, location of the patient, the stigma of going to a psychologist and the lack of trained psychologists.
A total of 129 people took part in the six-week randomized, controlled trial, between May 2021 and December 2021, with a 12-week follow-up. Participants needed to be aged between 18-64 years, have a fear of either flying, heights, needles, spiders and dogs. They were emailed weekly questionnaires to record their progress. Those experiencing adverse events could request contact from a clinical psychologist at any stage.
Participants experiencing all five types of phobia showed comparable improvements in the Severity Measures for Specific Phobia scale over the course of the trial. There were no participant withdrawals due to intervention-related adverse events.
“The oVRcome app involves what’s called “exposure therapy, a form of CBT exposing participants to their specific phobias in short bursts, to build up their tolerance to the phobia in a clinically-approved and controlled way,” Associate Professor Lacey says.
“Some participants reported significant progress in overcoming their phobias after the trial period, with one feeling confident enough to now book an overseas family holiday, 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 could possibly remove it themselves.”
The app programme consisted of standard CBT components including psychoeducation, relaxation, mindfulness, cognitive techniques, exposure through VR, and a relapse prevention model. Participants were able to select their own exposure levels to their particular phobia from a large library of VR videos.
“This means the levels of exposure therapy could be tailored to an individual’s needs which is a particular strength. The more traditional in-person exposure treatment for specific phobias have a notoriously high dropout rate due to discomfort, inconvenience and a lack of motivation in people seeking out fears to expose themselves to. With this VR app treatment, trialists had increased control in exposure to their fears, as well as control over when and where exposure occurs,” says Associate Professor Lacey.
Says Adam, “The trial has allowed us to explore efficacy and benefit from robust learnings. We’re really pleased to learn that users were able to build confidence and take steps toward conquering their phobias. While there has been large growth in the number of apps treating anxiety and mental health issues, only a few have been rigorously clinically studied. The findings from the trial give us real confidence as we launch the product internationally. We know that we can make a difference for so many.”
Anyone suffering from phobia or anxiety, including social anxiety is invited to find out more at www.oVRcome.io.
Ends
Here is a link:
https://futurefive.co.nz/story/virtual-reality-app-reduces-phobias-through-nz-trial
There is a huge amount of coverage of this paper of which this is typical:
NZ study finds mobile app able to alleviate symptoms of common phobias
The VR app has been shown to reduce 75% of phobia symptoms after six weeks of treatment.
By Adam Ang
July 21, 2022 01:14 am
A clinical trial in New Zealand found a virtual reality app-based cognitive behaviour therapy programme reduced the symptoms of common phobias.
FINDINGS
Conducted between May and December last year, the randomised, controlled trial recruited a total of 129 adult participants with fears of flying, heights, needles, spiders and dogs. It was led by Dr Cameron Lacey, associate professor from the Department of Psychological Medicine at the University of Otago.
The study involved the use of a mobile VR app called oVRcome, which offers an exposure therapy programme for patients dealing with anxieties and phobias. Exposure therapy helps patients build up their tolerance to their specific phobias through short bursts of exposure.
The programme consists of standard CBT components including psychoeducation, relaxation, mindfulness, cognitive techniques, exposure through VR and a relapse prevention model.
Based on findings, which were published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, the app-based CBT programme alleviated symptoms of phobias by 75% among participants after six weeks of treatment.
According to Dr Lacey, "some participants reported significant progress in overcoming their phobias after the trial period, with one feeling confident enough to now book an overseas family holiday, another lining up for a COVID-19 vaccine and another reporting they now felt confident not only knowing there was a spider in the house but that they could possibly remove it themselves".
The study also noted that during the trial, participants experiencing all five types of phobia exhibited "comparable improvements" in the Severity Measures for Specific Phobia scale.
WHY IT MATTERS
Dr Lacey said the study has revealed a great potential for the use of VR and mobile apps as a means of self-guided treatment for people struggling with often-crippling phobias. Globally, one in twelve people has either fear of flying, needles, heights, spiders and dogs.
oVRcome's app-based exposure therapy programme provides users with greater control of exposure to their fears, something that traditional exposure treatments do not offer. "The more traditional in-person exposure treatments for specific phobias have a notoriously high dropout rate due to discomfort, inconvenience and a lack of motivation in people seeking out fears to expose themselves to," Dr Lacey claimed.
MARKET SNAPSHOT
Most recent applications of VR technologies in Asia-Pacific are focused on medical education and helping ease physical pain. Providers in this space include the Japanese VR maker Jolly Good and Australian startup Vantari VR.
A recent study in the United States has found that computer-assisted CBT has helped improve depression symptoms in primary care patients, compared to just regular treatment.
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I have to say this is one of the first peer-reviewed studies I have been aware of that has blended an app, virtual reality and a range of different approaches to achieve a good clinical outcome for patients.
It is great that rigorous review was undertaken and it seems we can be confident the intervention(s) really work.
Shows how the clever use of not very expensive technology can make a real difference!
David.
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