Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Apr 13;11(1):113.
doi: 10.1186/s40359-023-01116-3.

Efficacy of exposure and response prevention therapy in mixed reality for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Luzie Lohse  1 , Lena Jelinek  2 , Steffen Moritz  2 , Jannik Blömer  2 , Lara Bücker #  2 , Franziska Miegel #  2
Affiliations

Efficacy of exposure and response prevention therapy in mixed reality for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Luzie Lohse et al. BMC Psychol. .

Abstract

Many patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) do not receive cognitive behavioral therapy with exposure and response prevention (first line treatment for OCD), for example, due to patients' fear of the exposure and reservations of the therapists. Technology-supported exposure (e.g., exposure therapy with response prevention in mixed reality [MERP]) for patients with OCD may help to overcome this obstacle. Building upon findings of our pilot study objectives of this study are to evaluate the efficacy, expectations of treatment success, feasibility, and acceptance of MERP as well as to identify possible limitations. In total, 64 outpatients with contamination-related OCD will be recruited and randomized to one of two conditions: MERP (six sessions in six weeks) and self-guided exposure therapy (six exercises in six weeks). Participants will be assessed before (baseline), after the six-week intervention period (post), as well as three months after post assessment (follow-up) regarding symptomatology (Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale; Y-BOCS), their subjective evaluation of MERP (acceptance) and sense of presence. The planned study is the first to investigate MERP in patients with OCD.

Keywords: Augmented reality; CBT; Exposure therapy; Mixed reality; OCD; Psychotherapy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Virtual toilet.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Virtual objects on the floor.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Miegel F, Jelinek L, Moritz S, Lohse L, Yassari AH, Bücker L. Exposure and response prevention therapy in mixed reality for patients with contamination-related obsessive-compulsive disorder: A randomized controlled pilot study. submitted. 2022 - PubMed
    1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. American Psychiatric Association; 2013.
    1. Kim SK, McKay D, Taylor S, Tolin D, Olatunji B, Timpano K et al. The structure of obsessive compulsive symptoms and beliefs: A correspondence and biplot analysis.J Anxiety Disord. 2016 Mar1;38:79–87. - PubMed
    1. Fawcett EJ, Power H, Fawcett JM. Women are at greater risk of OCD than men: a meta-analytic review of OCD prevalence worldwide. J Clin Psychiatry. 2020 Aug 1;81(4). - PubMed
    1. Ruscio AM, Stein DJ, Chiu WT, Kessler RC. The epidemiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Mol Psychiatry. 2010 Jan;15(1):53. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms