Effects of Virtual Reality-Based Graded Exposure Therapy on PTSD Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Open accessAbstract
Previous studies reported that virtual reality (VR)-based exposure therapy (VRET) was a clinically beneficial intervention for specific phobias. However, among VRET, VR-based graded exposure therapy (VR-GET) is little known about its efficacy on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Therefore, this meta-analysis investigated the effects of VR-GET for PTSD symptoms. A literature search yielded seven randomized controlled trials. The differences between conditions regarding the primary outcome of PTSD symptoms in the effect size of the individual study were calculated using Hedges’ g. The findings showed VR-GET showed a significantly larger effect size for PTSD symptoms (g = 1.100, p = 0.001), compared to controls. However, no significant difference between conventional VRET and controls was found for PTSD symptoms (g = −0.279, p = 0.970). These findings indicated the superiority of VR-GET for PTSD symptoms compared to controls, supporting the importance of immersive PTSD treatments. Nevertheless, the results need to be interpreted with caution due to the substantial number of military service personnel studies. Future trials, considering individually tailored scenarios in virtual environments to cover a wider range of trauma types, are required to investigate its evidence on treating PTSD.
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VRET's potential resides in its ability to create personalized exposure sanctuaries for PTSD or training grounds for fundamental research models.
“VRET’s potential resides in its ability to create personalized exposure sanctuaries for PTSD [31,32], or training grounds for fundamental research models [33,34,35].”
From SAFEvR MentalVeRse.app: Development of a Free Immersive Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Acrophobia and Claustrophobia (2024) · cites this paper as [31]
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 [19]
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Raja, U. S. (2023) · Environmental Communication · doi:10.1080/17524032.2023.2296854 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“For example, VR has been used successfully to treat survivors of post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias in a controlled environment (Botella et al., 2015; Heo & Park, 2022).”
MethodКобець, О. (2024) · Вісник Національного університету оборони України · doi:10.33099/2617-6858-2024-77-1-53-61 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) in Rehabilitation
Yıldız, A. (2024) · doi:10.69860/nobel.9786053359418.11 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
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The Usage of Virtual Reality Among Children: A Feasibility StudyPreprint
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Ethische Herausforderungen einer Telepsychiatrie
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Impact of emotional trauma on brainstem: Unlocking the effects on neural pathways
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The Integration of Metaverse in Psychiatry and Mental Health
Malviya, R., & Rajput, S. (2025) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781394315680.ch9
Walking It Off: Habituation of Gait at Virtual High Elevation SettingsPreprint
Poretti, K., Ellmers, T. J., Enfield, J., Rhea, C. K., & Raffegeau, T. E. (2025) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-6549725/v1
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Assessment and Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder via Digital Mental Health Technology
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VIRTUAL REALITY IN THE MEDICINE SECTOR, VISUALIZATION CT I MRI, PET
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Trauma-related nightmares: A Comprehensive and Integrative review
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Griefbots: Retos de la inteligencia artificial en tiempos del duelo mediado por lo digital
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“Es wird der Fall eines Patienten mit einer kPTBS nach ICD-11 mit tiefgreifenden moralischen Verletzungen aus Auslandeinsätzen vorgestellt, der durch die damit verbundene Symptomatik stark in der Lebensgestaltung eingeschränkt war.”
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“Within military and Veteran populations, VR has been applied to improve function (10, 11), reduce procedural discomfort (12), and support treatment for post − traumatic stress disorder (13, 14).”
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Роль психотерапии в лечении тревожных и стресс-ассоциированных расстройств. Обзор литературы
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Walking it off: habituation of gait at virtual high elevation
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- Authors
- Heo, S., & Park, J.-H.
- Affiliations
- Kyungbok University (KR)
- Soonchunhyang University (KR)
- Corresponding author
- Park, Jin-Hyuck
- Venue
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2022-11-29
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 23
- Pages
- 15911
- ISSN
- 1660-4601 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC9735589
- OpenAlex
- W4310371052
- Cited by
- 61
- References
- 35
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 9
- FWCI
- 1.96
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Soonchunhyang University (2022, 2021R1I1A3041487)
- National Research Foundation of Korea (2022, 2021R1I1A3041487)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Control and Systems Engineering › Simulation and Modeling Applications
- Keywords
- virtual reality exposure therapy, post-traumatic stress disorder, posttraumatic stress symptoms, immersive virtual environments, military personnel, trauma treatment
- MeSH terms
- Humans, Implosive Therapy, Military Personnel, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Treatment Outcome, Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy
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