Virtual reality-assisted cognitive behavioral therapy for patients with alcohol use disorder: a randomized feasibility study.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD). Exposure to high-risk situations in virtual reality (VR) has been suggested to have a potential therapeutical benefit, but no previous study has combined VR and CBT for AUD. We aimed to investigate the feasibility of using VR-simulated high-risk environments in CBT-based treatment of AUD.

Methods

We randomized ten treatment-seeking AUD-diagnosed individuals to three sessions of conventional CBT or VR-assisted CBT performed at two outpatient clinics in Denmark. In each session, patients randomized to VR-CBT were exposed to VR-simulations from a restaurant to induce authentic thoughts, emotions, physiological reactions, and craving for CBT purposes. The primary outcom

SUBMITTER: Thaysen-Petersen D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10899342 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature