Virtual reality in the treatment of spider phobia: a controlled study

This study explored whether virtual reality (VR) exposure therapy was effective in the treatment of spider phobia. We compared a treatment condition vs. a waiting list condition in a between group design with 23 participants. Participants in the VR treatment group received an average of four one-hour exposure therapy sessions. VR exposure was effective in treating spider phobia compared to a control condition as measured with a Fear of Spiders questionnaire, a Behavioural Avoidance Test (BAT), and severity ratings made by the clinician and an independent assessor. Eighty-three percent of patients in the VR treatment group showed clinically significant improvement compared with 0% in the waiting list group, and no patients dropped out. This study shows that VR exposure can be effective in the treatment of phobias. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.