Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Speech Anxiety Using Commercial Hardware and Software
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Completed
- Sponsor
- Enrollment
- 50
- Locations
- 2
- Primary Endpoint
- Public Speaking Anxiety Scale
Study Overview
Brief Summary
Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) is an efficacious treatment of fear and anxiety, but because of the high financial costs and technical complexity of the past generation of VR hardware, there has been no large-scale implementation of this promising treatment. The present study will investigate whether off-the-shelf, commercial VR hardware and software can be used as stimuli material to conduct in-session exposure therapy for speech anxiety. The study will recruit n=25+25 participants from the general public suffering from substantial speech anxiety, who will be randomized to either a waiting-list, or one-session VRET with a therapist, followed by four weeks of a progressive maintenance program encouraging in-vivo exposure. The waiting-list group will then receive an Internet-delivered VRET treatment program.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel
- Primary Purpose
- Treatment
- Masking
- None
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 18 Years to — (Adult, Older Adult)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria
- •Substantial public speaking anxiety
- •Have access to VR-compatible smartphone (including Internet)
- •Can travel to Stockholm University for treatment on one occasion
- •Can speak and understand sufficient Swedish
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
Arms & Interventions
Waiting-list, then Internet-administered VRET
4-week waiting list, followed by therapist-guided, Internet-administered VRET with a 4-week progressive maintenance program.
Intervention: Waiting-list (Other)
One-session VRET face-to-face
One-session Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy led by therapist (face-to-face), followed by a 4-week therapist-guided Internet-administered progressive maintenance program.
Intervention: Face-to-face Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (Behavioral)
Waiting-list, then Internet-administered VRET
4-week waiting list, followed by therapist-guided, Internet-administered VRET with a 4-week progressive maintenance program.
Intervention: Internet-administered Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (Behavioral)
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Public Speaking Anxiety Scale
Time Frame: Change from baseline: Week 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 21
Self-rating of public speaking anxiety
Secondary Outcomes
- Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item(Change from baseline: Week 0, 5 and 21)
- Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale Self-Report(Change from baseline: Week 0, 5 and 21)
- Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale(Change from baseline: Week 0, 5 and 21)
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item(Change from baseline: Week 0, 5 and 21)
- Brunnsviken Brief Quality of life scale(Change from baseline: Week 0, 5 and 21)
Investigators
Per Carlbring
Professor
Stockholm University