Cognitive behavioral therapy with adaptive virtual reality exposure vs. cognitive behavioral therapy with in vivo exposure in the treatment of social anxiety disorder: A study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) has a high prevalence and an early onset with recovery taking decades to occur. Current evidence supports the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with virtual reality (VR) exposure. However, the evidence is based on a sparse number of studies with predominantly small sample sizes. There is a need for more trials investigating the optimal way of applying VR based exposure for SAD. In this trial, we will test the efficacy of CBT with adaptive VR exposure allowing adjustment of the exposure based on real-time monitoring of the participants's anxiety level.

Methods

The trial is a randomized controlled, assessor-blinded, parallel-group superiority trail. The study has two arms: (1) CBT including exposure in vivo (CBT-Exp)

SUBMITTER: Orskov PT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9589352 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature