The effects of a treatment based on the use of virtual reality exposure and cognitive-behavioral therapy applied to patients with agoraphobia1

Exposure to virtual reality phobic environments was used with patients with chronic agoraphobia. The exposure to virtual stimuli has been verified as a useful procedure in treating phobic disorders. However, there are some specific problems with agoraphobia (determining phobic stimuli, avatars, etc.). The aim of this experimental study is to test a combined treatment, virtual reality exposure and cognitive-behavioral treatment (VRET), compared with a traditional cognitive-behavioral approach (CBT), in reducing agoraphobia symptoms. Two experimental groups were used. 15 patients with chronic agoraphobia received a VRET procedure (3D), and 13 received CBT. Both groups had 11 treatment sessions. The post-treatment measurements included a brief behavioral avoidance test (BAT). Results showed a significant improvement in agoraphobia symptoms (cognition, body sensation, level of anxiety, depression) in both groups. In general, this improvement remained three months later. Also, the BAT procedure indicated the ability of most patients to deal with a phobic environment. Additionally, the VRET 1 This study was supported by grant PROFIT-150500-2003-131(former Department of Science and Technology, Government of Spain), and grant PI 4/99 (FUNCIS, Autonomous Government of Canary Island). We wish to thank Ms. Margaret Gillon Dowens for her technical corrections in the English translation of this paper. 2 Correspondence: Universidad de La Laguna. Facultad de Psicología. Departamento Personalidad, Evaluación y Tratamientos Psicológicos. Campus de Guajara. 38204 La Laguna. Tenerife (España). E-mail: [email protected] 6 PEÑATE et al. Virtual reality exposure and cognitive-behavioral therapy in agoraphobia Int J Clin Health Psychol, Vol. 8, No 1 group showed a slight amelioration of symptoms compared with the CBT group. These data are discussed in terms of the specific difficulties of VRET with agoraphobia, and the viability of our seven virtual environments to generate an acceptable exposure to phobic stimuli.