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Premkumar, P., Heym, N. 
ORCID: 0000-0003-2414-8854, Myers, J.A.C., Formby, P. ORCID: 0009-0009-7189-8691, Battersby, S., Sumich, A.L. ORCID: 0000-0003-4333-8442 and Brown, D.J. ORCID: 0000-0002-1677-7485,
2024.
Augmenting self-guided virtual-reality exposure therapy for social anxiety with biofeedback: a randomised controlled trial.
Frontiers in Psychiatry, 15: 1467141.
ISSN 1664-0640
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Abstract
Introduction: We previously found that self-guided Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) improved Public Speaking Anxiety (PSA) and reduced heartrate. Elevated heartrate characterises social anxiety and the self-guided VRET seemed to reduce heartrate. Thus, receiving continuous biofeedback about physiological arousal during the VRET could help socially anxious individuals to manage their anxiety. The present study aimed to determine whether biofeedback enhances the responsiveness of VRET.
Methods: Seventy-two individuals with high self-reported social anxiety were randomly allocated to VRET-plus-biofeedback (n=38; 25 completers) or VRET-alone (n=35; 25 completers). Three hour-long VRET sessions were delivered over two consecutive weeks. During each session, participants delivered a 20-minute public speech in front of a virtual audience.
Results: Participants in the VRET-plus-biofeedback group received biofeedback on heartrate and frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) within the virtual environment and were asked to lower their arousal accordingly. Participants in both groups completed psychometric assessments of social anxiety after each session and at one-month follow-up. PSA improved by the end of treatment and overall social anxiety improved one month after the VRET across both groups. The VRET-plus-biofeedback group showed a steadier reduction in FAA in the first VRET session and a greater reduction in self-reported arousal across the two sessions than the VRET-alone group.
Conclusion: Biofeedback can steady physiological arousal and lower perceived arousal during exposure. The benefits of self-guided VRET for social anxiety are sustained one month after therapy.
| Item Type: | Journal article | ||||||
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| Publication Title: | Frontiers in Psychiatry | ||||||
| Creators: | Premkumar, P., Heym, N., Myers, J.A.C., Formby, P., Battersby, S., Sumich, A.L. and Brown, D.J. | ||||||
| Publisher: | Frontiers Media | ||||||
| Date: | 12 November 2024 | ||||||
| Volume: | 15 | ||||||
| ISSN: | 1664-0640 | ||||||
| Identifiers: |
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| Rights: | © 2024 Premkumar, Heym, Myers, Formby, Battersby, Sumich and Brown. 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. | ||||||
| Divisions: | Schools > School of Science and Technology Schools > School of Social Sciences |
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| Record created by: | Jonathan Gallacher | ||||||
| Date Added: | 12 Nov 2024 15:05 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 12 Nov 2024 15:05 | ||||||
| URI: | https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/52559 |
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