Virtual reality exposure therapy for reducing social anxiety in stuttering: a randomized controlled pilot trial
Author(s)
Chard, Ian
van Zalk, Nejra
Picinali, Lorenzo
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
We report on findings from the first randomized controlled pilot trial of virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) developed specifically for reducing social anxiety associated with stuttering. People who stutter with heightened social anxiety were recruited from online adverts and randomly allocated to receive VRET (n = 13) or be put on a waitlist (n = 12). Treatment was delivered remotely using a smartphone-based VR headset. It consisted of three weekly sessions, each comprising both performative and interactive exposure exercises, and was guided by a virtual therapist. Multilevel model analyses failed to demonstrate the effectiveness of VRET at reducing social anxiety between pre- and post-treatment. We found similar results for fear of negative evaluation, negative thoughts associated with stuttering, and stuttering characteristics. However, VRET was associated with reduced social anxiety between post-treatment and one-month follow-up. These pilot findings suggest that our current VRET protocol may not be effective at reducing social anxiety amongst people who stutter, though might be capable of supporting longer-term change. Future VRET protocols targeting stuttering-related social anxiety should be explored with larger samples. The results from this pilot trial provide a solid basis for further design improvements and for future research to explore appropriate techniques for widening access to social anxiety treatments in stuttering.
Date Issued
2023-02-09
Date Acceptance
2023-01-18
Citation
Frontiers in Digital Health, 2023, 5, pp.1-14
ISSN
2673-253X
Publisher
Frontiers Media
Start Page
1
End Page
14
Journal / Book Title
Frontiers in Digital Health
Volume
5
Copyright Statement
© 2023 Chard, Van Zalk and Picinali. 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.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fdgth.2023.1061323/full
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
1061323
Date Publish Online
2023-02-09