Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Public Speaking Anxiety

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Social Anxiety; Social Anxiety Disorder, Performance Only; Public Speaking
• Interventions: Behavioral: In-session Virtual Reality exposure therapy; Behavioral: Internet-administered transition program

• Registration Number: NCT03885414
• Lead Sponsor: Stockholm University

Brief Summary

Virtual Reality exposure therapy (VRET) is an efficacious treatment for anxiety disorders but has yet to be implemented in regular care settings. This is arguably due to the limitations of the past generation of VR technology, which was expensive, inaccessible, cumbersome and hard to use. With the advent of consumer VR technology, VRET is now ready for implementation in regular care. This multiple-baseline trial will examine the effectiveness of VRET for public speaking anxiety (PSA) when delivered under real-world conditions at an ordinary, non-specialized mental health clinic, by clinical psychologist with only brief VRET training. Participants will either be self-referred specifically for this treatment, or come through ordinary clinical channels. Self-rated PSA will serve as primary outcome measure and will be measured three times prior to treatment (at screening and twice after a diagnostic screening telephone interview) , four times after onset, at the end of the treatment period, and three months after treatment.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2019-01-14
• Study First Submitted: 2019-03-11
• Study First Submitted QC: 2019-03-19
• Study First Posted: 2019-03-21
• Primary Completion: 2019-09-30
• Study Completion: 2019-09-30
• Status Verified: 2020-01
• Last Update Submitted: 2020-01-22
• Last Update Posted: 2020-01-23

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 23

Inclusion Criteria

• Have substantial public speaking anxiety (PSAS >= 60)
• Can travel to PBM clinic on one occasion and pay stipulated patient fee
• Can speak and understand sufficient Swedish
• Have stable access to the internet

Exclusion Criteria

• Deficits in sight or balance impacting the VR-experience
• A severe psychiatric disorder better treated elsewhere, including current major depression, alcohol or drug abuse, bipolarity, psychosis or similar
• Active psychopharmacological treatment, unless stable for last 3 months
• Other ongoing psychological treatment

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
OST-VRET + in-vivo transition program	In-session Virtual Reality exposure therapy	One-session treatment (OST) VRET on-location with clinical psychologist (3 hours), followed by a therapist-guided, four-week online program encouraging transition to real-world, in-vivo exposure exercises.
OST-VRET + in-vivo transition program	Internet-administered transition program	One-session treatment (OST) VRET on-location with clinical psychologist (3 hours), followed by a therapist-guided, four-week online program encouraging transition to real-world, in-vivo exposure exercises.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change from baseline: Public Speaking Anxiety Scale	Change from baseline: (1) five days after interview, (2) ten days after interview, (3) 7 days post-OST, (4) 14 days post-OST (5) 21 days post-OST (6) 28 days post-OST, (7) 35 days post-OST, (8) 125 days post-PST	Canonical total score will be used. Measure is self-rated, online. Swedish translation of the original PSAS (Bartholomay \& Houlihan, 2016)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change from baseline: Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale Self-Report	Change from baseline: (1) 7 days post-OST, (2) 35 days post-OST, (3) 125 days post-PST	Canonical total score will be used. Measure is self-rated, online.
Change from baseline: Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item	Change from baseline: (1) 7 days post-OST, (2) 35 days post-OST, (3) 125 days post-PST	Canonical total score will be used. Measure is self-rated, online.
Change from baseline: Brunnsviken Brief Quality of life scale	Change from baseline: (1) 7 days post-OST, (4) 35 days post-OST, (5) 125 days post-PST	Canonical total score will be used. Measure is self-rated, online.
Change from baseline: Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale	Change from baseline: (1) 7 days post-OST, (2) 35 days post-OST, (3) 125 days post-PST	Canonical total score will be used. Measure is self-rated, online.
Change from baseline: Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item	Change from baseline: (1) 7 days post-OST, (2) 35 days post-OST, (3) 125 days post-PST	Canonical total score will be used. Measure is self-rated, online.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Department of Psychology; 🇸🇪 Stockholm, Sweden