ArticleFrontiers in psychology2021
Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Fear of Heights: Clinicians' Attitudes Become More Positive After Trying VRET.
Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 47 citations in OpenAlex.
- Trial
- Therapist-guided virtual reality exposure therapy for fear of heights: evidence from a multiple-baseline single-case experimental design.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Effect of virtual reality (VR) technology on anxiety control and acrophobia reduction: A randomized controlled trial in Iran.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2026Article
- CBT therapists' attitudes toward virtual reality use in psychotherapy: a brief report from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Exploring Predictors of Counselors' Acceptance of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy With Resistance and Job Contexts as Moderators: Cross-Sectional Mixed Methods Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Virtual Reality: Challenges and Perspectives in Mental Health.Alpha psychiatry · 2025Review
- Transition ability to safe states reduces fear responses to height.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Virtual reality gaming: a tool for reducing fear and anxiety in university students.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- SAFEvR MentalVeRse.app: Development of a Free Immersive Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Acrophobia and Claustrophobia.Brain sciences · 2024Article
- iVR-fNIRS: studying brain functions in a fully immersive virtual environment.Neurophotonics · 2024Review
- Using iVR to deliver optimal psychotherapy experience-current perspectives on VRET for acrophobia.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Perspective: The Promise of Virtual Reality as an Immersive Therapeutic.Journal of medical extended reality · 2024Article
- Virtual reality (VR) treatments for anxiety disorders are unambiguously successful, so why are so few therapists using it? Barriers to adoption and potential solutions.Cognitive behaviour therapy · 2023Article
- Implementation of virtual reality in healthcare: a scoping review on the implementation process of virtual reality in various healthcare settings.Implementation science communications · 2023Article
- Using the Theoretical Domains Framework to Inform the Implementation of Therapeutic Virtual Reality into Mental Healthcare.Administration and policy in mental health · 2023Article
- Visual feedback-dependent modulation of arousal, postural control, and muscle stretch reflexes assessed in real and virtual environments.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2023Article
- The acceptability of virtual reality mindfulness for the treatment of insomnia: clinicians and patients' attitudes.International journal of clinical and health psychology : IJCHPArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundVirtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) has the potential to solve logistic challenges when treating specific phobias. However, VRET has yet to see a large-scale implementation in clinical settings despite positive findings in treatment trials. This may partly be due to attitudes and lack of experience among clinicians, but also because of expensive and stationary VR solutions.
objectiveThis study tested whether modern, wireless, commercially available VR equipment with controller-free hand tracking could induce and reduce discomfort using scenarios designed for fear of heights. Also, the study tested if clinicians' attitudes toward using VR in therapy changed after trying it themselves.
methodAttitudes to using VR in therapy and discomfort ratings were assessed for 74 clinicians before and after completing two VR scenarios. In addition, 54 non-clinicians completed the same scenarios. Participants were not diagnosed with acrophobia.
resultsThe VR scenarios induced discomfort comparable to participants' reported fear of heights in real life. Repeated training reduced discomfort. Positive attitudes toward use of VR in therapy was predicted by previous experience with VR, as well as positive attitudes toward novel technology and exposure therapy. Clinicians' attitudes became more favorable after trying VRET themselves. Clinicians reported a range of possible advantages and disadvantages of using VR in therapy.
conclusionVRET for fear of heights was able to induce and reduce discomfort in clinicians and non-clinicians, and clinicians' attitudes toward using VRET become more positive after trying VRET for themselves. The latest generation of VR solutions has potential to improve clinical availability and treatment options. Future research should explore how VRET can be implemented in clinical settings.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.