Efficacy of virtual reality exposure therapy and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy on symptoms of acrophobia and anxiety sensitivity in adolescent girls: A randomized controlled trial
Study shows that virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) and EMDR can improve symptoms of acrophobia & anxiety in female adolescents.
Article Abstract
“Background: Acrophobia is a specific phobia characterized by a severe fear of heights. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of two therapies that may ameliorate symptoms of acrophobia and anxiety sensitivity, i.e., virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy with a Waiting List Control Condition (WLCC).
Methods: We applied a three-armed randomized controlled pre-post-test design with 45 female adolescent students. Students who met DSM-5 criteria for acrophobia were randomly assigned to either VRET (N = 15; Mage = 17.26; SD = 1.32), EMDR (N = 15; Mage = 17.15; SD = 1.57), or a WLCC (N = 15; Mage = 17.50; SD = 1.26). The study groups were evaluated one week before the intervention and one week after the last intervention session regarding symptoms of acrophobia (Severity Measure for Acrophobia) and anxiety sensitivity (Anxiety Sensitivity Index).
Results: The data showed that both the application of VRET and EMDR therapy were associated with significantly reduced symptoms of acrophobia (d = 1.03 for VRET and d = 1.08 for EMDR) and anxiety sensitivity (d = 1.15 for VRET and d = 1.13 for EMDR) in comparison to the Waiting List.
Limitations: The sample consisted only of adolescent women. Due to the recognizable differences between the two interventions, the therapists and the participants were not blind to the conditions.
Conclusion: The results suggest that both VRET and EMDR are interventions that can significantly improve symptoms of acrophobia and anxiety sensitivity in female adolescents.”
—Description from publisher
Article Access
Open Access
Azimisefat, P., de Jongh, A., Rajabi, S., Kanske, P., & Jamshidi, F. (2022). Efficacy of virtual reality exposure therapy and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy on symptoms of acrophobia and anxiety sensitivity in adolescent girls: A randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Psychology. Open access: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.919148
Date
September 15, 2022
Creator(s)
Parisa Azimisefat, Ad de Jongh, Soran Rajabi
Contributor(s)
Philipp Kanske, Fatemeh Jamshidi
Topics
Anxiety/Panic/Phobias
Client Population
Adolescents
Practice & Methods
Efficacy
Extent
10 pages
Publisher
Frontiers
Rights
© 2022 Azimisefat, de Jongh, Rajabi, Kanske and Jamshidi. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
APA Citation
Azimisefat, P., de Jongh, A., Rajabi, S., Kanske, P., & Jamshidi, F. (2022). Efficacy of virtual reality exposure therapy and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy on symptoms of acrophobia and anxiety sensitivity in adolescent girls: A randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Psychology. Open access: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.919148
Audience
EMDR Therapists, Other Mental Health Professionals
Language
English
Content Type
Article, Peer-Reviewed, RCT
Access Type
External Resource, Open Access
