The Efficacy and Therapeutic Alliance of Augmented Reality Exposure Therapy in Treating Adults With Phobic Disorders: Systematic Review
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Abstract
Background: Phobic disorders are characterized by excessive fear of a stimulus that can affect the quality of a patient’s life. The lifetime prevalence in adults is 7.7% to 12.5%. The current literature provides evidence-based inferences about the effectiveness of in-vivo exposure therapy (IVET) in treating phobia. However, this method can put the therapist and the client in danger, with high drop out and refusal rates. A newer approach for exposure therapy using augmented reality technology is under assessment. Objective: This systematic review investigated the novel technology’s efficacy, cost-efficacy, and therapeutic alliance in treating adults with phobia. Methods: An extensive search was conducted using 4 major databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase, and Scopus) using a comprehensive list of synonyms for augmented reality exposure therapy (ARET) and phobic disorders. The search targeted any randomized control trial testing ARET in adults with phobic disorders up to August 8, 2022. Results: A total of 6 studies were included, with 208 participants providing results. Studies investigating the efficacy of ARET compared to no intervention showed significant results (P<.05) in the ARET group improvement. Head-to-head comparative studies comparing ARET to IVET showed no significant difference (P>.05) in the effectiveness and therapeutic alliance between both therapies. Further, the results demonstrated that the ARET group had a better long-term effect than IVET, with the ability to put the patients in more situations to face the feared object. Conclusions: The current data suggest clinically significant efficacy and a promising therapeutic alliance of ARET. However, no data are available investigating the cost-effectiveness of ARET. Further research is warranted to ascertain ARET’s cost-effectiveness and examine its efficacy in other populations and anxiety conditions.
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IMTs have proven effective in treating a wide range of mental health conditions, such as anxiety, PTSD, autism spectrum disorders, and various phobias.
“Moreover, IMTs have proven effective in treating a wide range of mental health conditions, such as anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, autism spectrum disorders, and various phobias [15-22].”
From Immersive technologies for depression care: scoping review (2024) · cites this paper as [15]
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- Authors
- Hasan, S., Alhaj, H., & Hassoulas, A.
- Affiliations
- Cardiff University (GB)
- University of Sharjah (AE)
- Corresponding author
- Alhaj, Hamid
- Venue
- JMIR Mental Health
- Publisher
- JMIR Publications Inc.
- Published
- 2023-11-30
- Volume
- 10
- Pages
- e51318
- ISSN
- 2368-7959 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC10722365
- OpenAlex
- W4389180384
- Cited by
- 15
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 6
- FWCI
- 0.63
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- JMIR Mental Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Keywords
- phobia, phobia treatment, therapeutic relationship, in vivo exposure therapy, treatment efficacy, cost-effectiveness, long-term treatment outcomes, adults
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