NCT04553120

Improving the Exposure Therapy Through Projection-based Augmented Reality for the Treatment of Cockroach Phobia

Improving the Exposure Therapy Through Projection-based Augmented Reality for the Treatment of Cockroach Phobia: A Multiple-baseline Single Case Study

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 4 (actual)
• Sponsor: Universitat Jaume I · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The aim of this study is to test the efficacy and efficiency of varying the phobic stimuli during the augmented reality (AR) exposure therapy using multiple stimuli versus one single stimulus through projection-based AR (P-ARET) for the treatment of participants diagnosed with cockroach phobia.

Detailed description

Specific phobia (SP) refers to an extreme and persistent fear of a specific object or situation that is out of proportion to the actual danger or threat. SP is the most prevalent anxiety disorder with substantial impairment and comorbidity. Animal fear is one of the most prevalent subtypes of SP. In vivo exposure is the treatment of choice for this problem, but this technique is associated to limitations in its implementation related to the access and acceptability (i.e., low acceptance on the part of patients and therapists, high dropout rates, limited access to the treatment and, difficulties in its application in the clinical context). Augmented Reality (AR) offers some advantages in delivering the exposure technique: 1) Exposure to multiple virtual stimuli; 2) Going beyond reality; 3) Allowing complete control over the situation; 4) It allows privacy and confidentiality. Particularly, the most significant aspect of AR is that the virtual elements add relevant and helpful information to the physical information available in the real world. The study will follow the guidelines of a multiple-baseline single case design with alternating treatments. Participants (N = 4) who received a diagnosis of SP for cockroaches (DSM-5), will be randomly assigned to different baselines (ranging between 8 and 14 days) and all of them will receive the two experimental conditions: 1) AR exposure therapy with multiple stimuli and; 2) AR exposure therapy with a single stimulus. Five evaluation moments will be included: pre-intervention (baseline), post- intervention, and follow-up at the first month, 6 and 12 months.

Conditions

• Animal Phobia

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Alternating single stimulus and multiple stimuli	P-ARET for cockroach phobia alternating between two interventions: exposure to a single stimulus (always using the same projected cockroach) and exposure to multiple stimuli (different cockroaches in terms of number, shape, colour and movement). It will be counterbalanced to start the same number of participants in each of the two modalities. The two conditions will be randomly applied for each participant, with the restriction of that each condition will be applied 3 times. There will be 6 weekly sessions of approximately 1 hour. The purpose of this exposure treatment is to confront patients to the phobic stimuli in a controlled manner, which favors the habituation process and allows them to accept that the negative consequences they fear do not actually occur. All exposure sessions should be recorded (patients will sign informed consent for recording prior to treatment initiation).

Timeline

• Start date: 2020-09-30
• Primary completion: 2020-12-31
• Completion: 2022-12-30
• First posted: 2020-09-17
• Last updated: 2024-05-13

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Spain