Evaluating the Efficacy of Virtual Reality Therapy for Phobia Treatment: A Pilot Study

This study investigates feasibility of Virtual Reality (VR) technology as an alternative method to deal with the weaknesses of classical phobia treatments, like integration and effectiveness. To determine perceptions of VR therapy such as familiarity with VR technology and desire of adopting VR based exposure therapy and effectiveness, we conducted a pilot survey of 40 participants. Results indicate that participants are modestly familiar with VR and somewhat optimistic about VR’s potential as a treatment but strongly prefer a therapist present. The use of a small sample is justified when the findings are consistent with previous literature that details VR’s utility within the treatment of phobia. However, this preliminary insights of study need to be validated by further research with larger cohorts and optimized VR-based framework.