Virtual reality exposure therapy for reducing social anxiety in stuttering: A randomized controlled pilot trial.

ABSTRACT: We report on findings from the first randomized controlled pilot trial of virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) developed specifically for reducing social anxiety associated with stuttering. People who stutter with heightened social anxiety were recruited from online adverts and randomly allocated to receive VRET (n = 13) or be put on a waitlist (n = 12). Treatment was delivered remotely using a smartphone-based VR headset. It consisted of three weekly sessions, each comprising both performative and interactive exposure exercises, and was guided by a virtual therapist. Multilevel model analyses failed to demonstrate the effectiveness of VRET at reducing social anxiety between pre- and post-treatment. We found similar results for fear of negative evaluation, negative thought

SUBMITTER: Chard I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9947508 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature