Integrating virtual realities and psychotherapy

The use of virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) technology in clinical psychology is growing. Efficacious VR-based treatments for a variety of disorders have been developed. However, the field of technology-assisted psychotherapy is constantly changing with the advancement in technology. Factors such as interdisciplinary collaboration, consumer familiarity and adoption of VR products, and progress … Läs mer

Vårdhunden Ludde

Per Carlbring är leg psykolog, leg psykoterapeut och professor i psykologi vid Stockholms universitet. Tillsammans Golden Retrievern Ludde är de ett licensierat vårdhundsteam. Per forskar bland annat på olika sätt att behandla hundfobier. I en pågående studie jämförs behandling med virtual reality mot traditionell psykoterapi med exponeringsinslag. Studien heter ”Lucid Universal Digital Dog Exposure”, vilket … Läs mer

Virtual Reality exposure therapy for public speaking anxiety in routine care: a single-subject effectiveness trial

  Virtual Reality (VR) can be used as a therapeutic tool to conduct efficacious in-session exposure therapy by presenting virtual equivalents of phobic stimuli, yet past hardware restrictions hindered implementation in routine care and effectiveness studies. In the current study we examineed the effectiveness of a VR-assisted treatment protocol for public speaking anxiety with demonstrated … Läs mer

Seeking neutral: A Virtual Reality-based person-identity-matching task for attentional bias modification

We just published a new paper on attentional bias modification and social anxiety. The aims of attentional bias modification is to reduce anxiety by attenuating bias towards threatening information. The current study incorporated virtual reality (VR) technology and 3-dimensional stimuli with a person-identity-matching (PIM) task to evaluate the effects of a VR-based attentional bias modification … Läs mer

Measuring Alliance Toward Embodied Virtual Therapists in the Era of Automated Treatments

Automated virtual reality exposure therapies (VRETs) are self-help treatments conducted by oneself and supported by a virtual therapist embodied visually and/or with audio feedback. This simulates many of the nonspecific relational elements and common factors present in face-to-face therapy and may be a means of improving adherence to and efficacy of self-guided treatments. However, little … Läs mer

Measuring Alliance Toward Embodied Virtual Therapists in the Era of Automated Treatments

Automated virtual reality exposure therapies (VRETs) are self-help treatments conducted by oneself and supported by a virtual therapist embodied visually and/or with audio feedback. This simulates many of the nonspecific relational elements and common factors present in face-to-face therapy and may be a means of improving adherence to and efficacy of self-guided treatments. However, little … Läs mer

Treating depression with virtual reality interventions

Depression is a common mental disorder with a large treatment gap. Low-intensity, automated Virtual Reality (VR) interventions (not requiring a therapist) is a scalable and promising solution now that VR is an accessible and mature, consumer technology. Yet unlike with phobias, there have been few attempts at translating evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapeutic (CBT) techniques for … Läs mer

Effectiveness of Self-guided App-Based Virtual Reality Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Acrophobia (fear of hights)

Globally, access to evidence-based psychological treatment is limited. Innovative self-help methods using smartphone applications and low-cost virtual reality have the potential to significantly improve the accessibility and scalability of psychological treatments. In the upcoming issue of JAMA Psychiatry we report on the effectiveness of ZeroPhobia, a fully self-guided app-based virtual reality cognitive behavior therapy (VR … Läs mer

Descriptive usage, uptake and application performance statistics for a first-generation Virtual Reality application

Today we got a paper accepted in Frontiers in Psychology entitled ”The potential of consumer-targeted Virtual Reality relaxation applications: Descriptive usage, uptake and application performance statistics for a first-generation application”. Virtual Reality (VR) technology can be used to create immersive environments that promote relaxation and distraction, yet it is only with the recent advent of consumer … Läs mer