@article{du_sert_virtual_2018,

title = {Virtual reality therapy for refractory auditory verbal hallucinations in schizophrenia: A pilot clinical trial},

author = {O. P. Sert and S. Potvin and O. Lipp and L. Dellazizzo and M. Laurelli and R. Breton and P. Lalonde and K. Phraxayavong and K. O'Connor and J. -F. Pelletier and T. Boukhalfi and P. Renaud and A. Dumais},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85042420594&doi=10.1016%2fj.schres.2018.02.031&partnerID=40&md5=fe98669ecfdfb69d05cc9ebb58fecdcc},

doi = {10.1016/j.schres.2018.02.031},

issn = {09209964},

year  = {2018},

date = {2018-01-01},

journal = {Schizophrenia Research},

volume = {197},

pages = {176–181},

abstract = {Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental illness that poses significant challenges. While many pharmacological and psychosocial interventions are available, many treatment-resistant schizophrenia patients continue to suffer from persistent psychotic symptoms, notably auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH), which are highly disabling. This unmet clinical need requires new innovative treatment options. Recently, a psychological therapy using computerized technology has shown large therapeutic effects on AVH severity by enabling patients to engage in a dialogue with a computerized representation of their voices. These very promising results have been extended by our team using immersive virtual reality (VR). Our study was a 7-week phase-II, randomized, partial cross-over trial. Nineteen schizophrenia patients with refractory AVH were recruited and randomly allocated to either VR-assisted therapy (VRT) or treatment-as-usual (TAU). The group allocated to TAU consisted of antipsychotic treatment and usual meetings with clinicians. The TAU group then received a delayed 7 weeks of VRT. A follow-up was ensured 3 months after the last VRT therapy session. Changes in psychiatric symptoms, before and after TAU or VRT, were assessed using a linear mixed-effects model. Our findings showed that VRT produced significant improvements in AVH severity, depressive symptoms and quality of life that lasted at the 3-month follow-up period. Consistent with previous research, our results suggest that VRT might be efficacious in reducing AVH related distress. The therapeutic effects of VRT on the distress associated with the voices were particularly prominent (d = 1.2). VRT is a highly novel and promising intervention for refractory AVH in schizophrenia. © 2018},

note = {Publisher: Elsevier B.V.},

keywords = {adult, article, auditory hallucination, auditory verbal hallucination, clinical article, clinical effectiveness, computer assisted therapy, Computer-Assisted, controlled study, Cross-Over Studies, crossover procedure, disease severity, distress syndrome, female, follow up, Follow-Up Studies, hallucination, Hallucinations, human, Humans, male, Middle Aged, neuroleptic agent, outcome assessment, Outcome Assessment (Health Care), phase 2 clinical trial, physiology, Pilot Projects, pilot study, priority journal, procedures, psychotherapy, quality of life, randomized controlled trial, schizophrenia, Speech Perception, symptom, Therapy, therapy delay, therapy effect, treatment duration, treatment response, virtual reality, virtual reality exposure therapy},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{bouchard_virtual_2017,

title = {Virtual reality compared with in vivo exposure in the treatment of social anxiety disorder: A three-arm randomised controlled trial},

author = {S. Bouchard and S. Dumoulin and G. Robillard and T. Guitard and E. Klinger and H. Forget and C. Loranger and F. X. Roucaut},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85018214603&doi=10.1192%2fbjp.bp.116.184234&partnerID=40&md5=245751bf4ef3f8ae014a9c5816a585c3},

doi = {10.1192/bjp.bp.116.184234},

issn = {00071250},

year  = {2017},

date = {2017-01-01},

journal = {British Journal of Psychiatry},

volume = {210},

number = {4},

pages = {276–283},

abstract = {Background: People with social anxiety disorder (SAD) fear social interactions and may be reluctant to seek treatments involving exposure to social situations. Social exposure conducted in virtual reality (VR), embedded in individual cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), could be an answer. Aims: To show that conducting VR exposure in CBT for SAD is effective and is more practical for therapists than conducting exposure in vivo. Method: Participants were randomly assigned to either VR exposure (n =17), in vivo exposure (n=22) or waiting list (n= 20). Participants in the active arms received individual CBT for 14 weekly sessions and outcome was assessed with questionnaires and a behaviour avoidance test. (Trial registration number ISRCTN99747069.) Results: Improvements were found on the primary (Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale) and all five secondary outcome measures in both CBT groups compared with the waiting list. Conducting exposure in VR was more effective at post-treatment than in vivo on the primary outcome measure and on one secondary measure. Improvements were maintained at the 6-month follow-up. VR was significantly more practical for therapists than in vivo exposure. Conclusions: Using VR can be advantageous over standard CBT as a potential solution for treatment avoidance and as an efficient, cost-effective and practical medium of exposure. Declaration of interest S.B. and G.R. are consultants to and own equity in Cliniques et Développement In Virtuo, which develops virtual environments; however, Cliniques et Développement In Virtuo did not create the virtual environments used in this study. The terms of these arrangements were reviewed and approved by Universitédu Québec en Outaouais, in accordance with its policy on conflicts of interest. © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2017.},

note = {Publisher: Royal College of Psychiatrists},

keywords = {adult, article, avoidance behavior, clinical outcome, cognitive therapy, comparative effectiveness, comparative study, computer interface, controlled study, cost, devices, female, hospital admission, human, Humans, Implosive Therapy, in vivo study, major clinical study, male, Middle Aged, outcome assessment, Outcome Assessment (Health Care), phobia, procedures, randomized controlled trial, Social, social phobia, User-Computer Interface, virtual reality, virtual reality exposure therapy},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{vincelli_virtual_2002,

title = {Virtual reality assisted cognitive behavioral therapy for the treatment of panic disorders with agoraphobia},

author = {F. Vincelli and H. Choi and E. Molinari and B. K. Wiederhold and S. Bouchard and G. Riva},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-6944229623&doi=10.3233%2f978-1-60750-929-5-552&partnerID=40&md5=607d14f3f5aad82e9c92e73845639d83},

doi = {10.3233/978-1-60750-929-5-552},

issn = {09269630},

year  = {2002},

date = {2002-01-01},

journal = {Studies in Health Technology and Informatics},

volume = {85},

pages = {552–559},

abstract = {The chapter describes the characteristics of the Experiential-Cognitive Therapy (ECT) protocol for Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia. The goal of ECT is to decondition fear reactions, to modify misinterpretational cognition related to panic symptoms and to reduce anxiety symptoms. This is possible in an average of eight sessions of treatment plus an assessment phase and booster sessions, through the integration of Virtual Experience and traditional cognitive-behavioral techniques. We decided to employ the techniques included in the cognitive-behavioral approach because they showed high levels of efficacy. Through virtual environments we can gradually expose the patient to feared situation: virtual reality consent to re-create in our clinical office a real experiential world. The patient faces the feared stimuli in a context that is nearer to reality than imagination. For ECT we developed the Virtual Environments for Panic Disorders-VEPD-virtual reality system. VEPD is a 4-zone virtual environment developed using the Superscape VRT 5.6 toolkit. The four zones reproduce different potentially fearful situations - an elevator, a supermarket, a subway ride, and large square. In each zone the characteristics of the anxiety-related experience are defined by the therapist through a setup menu. © 2002, The authors.},

note = {ISBN: 1586032038; 9781586032036 

Place: Newport Beach, CA 

Publisher: IOS Press},

keywords = {agoraphobia, article, Assessment phase, behavior therapy, Behavioral approaches, cognitive therapy, Cognitive-behavioral therapies, computer assisted therapy, computer interface, Computer-Assisted, Desensitization, Fear, human, Humans, Large squares, outcome assessment, Outcome Assessment (Health Care), panic, Panic Disorder, problem based learning, Problem-Based Learning, Psychologic, Social Environment, Therapy, User-Computer Interface, virtual reality, Virtual reality system},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}