ArticleCognitive behaviour therapy2023
Virtual reality (VR) treatments for anxiety disorders are unambiguously successful, so why are so few therapists using it? Barriers to adoption and potential solutions.
Article in Cognitive behaviour therapy, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Facing fears in virtual worlds: A systematic review and meta-analysis on immersive VR therapy for children and adolescents with social anxiety and related disorders.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Innovative virtual reality exposure therapy for anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.Journal of global health · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of immersive virtual reality on fear, anxiety, and pain in pregnant women during vaginal examination in clinical training: a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Leveraging Immersive Virtual Reality to Prevent Child Injuries in the Home: Proof-of-Concept Study.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2026Article
- Health Care Workers' Perspectives on Virtual Reality in Mental Health: Qualitative Interview Study.JMIR human factors · 2026Article
- Expert panel to identify applications of virtual reality (VR) in cognitive behavioral therapy for alcohol use disorder: A Delphi study.Research square · 2026Article
- Are virtual reality (VR) interventions for substance use disorders designed for implementation? A rapid review of platform characteristics and clinical fit.Research square · 2026Article
- ICU nurses' experiences with virtual reality technology for work-related stress reduction: A qualitative study.International journal of nursing sciences · 2026Article
- CBT therapists' attitudes toward virtual reality use in psychotherapy: a brief report from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Evaluating the Effects of Clinician Prescribing and Implementation Materials on Adoption of Virtual Reality Therapeutics: Randomized Feasibility Pilot Study.JMIR XR and spatial computing · 2026Article
- Virtual Reality in Psychotherapy: A Commentary on Strategies, Interventions, and Perspectives From Five Clinical Reports.Journal of clinical psychology · 2025Article
- Supporting Clinicians in Implementing Exposure Therapy for Anxiety and Related Disorders.Current psychiatry reports · 2025Review
- Initial Recommendations for Virtual Reality in Mental Health Care from the American Medical Extended Reality Association.Journal of medical extended reality · 2025Article
- SAFEvR MentalVeRse.app: Development of a Free Immersive Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Acrophobia and Claustrophobia.Brain sciences · 2024Article
- Using iVR to deliver optimal psychotherapy experience-current perspectives on VRET for acrophobia.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Mental health providers are inexperienced but interested in telehealth-based virtual reality therapy: survey study.Frontiers in virtual reality · 2024Article
- Article
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 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Anxiety disorders are a significant cause of disability globally, yet only one in ten sufferers receives adequate quality treatment. Exposure-based therapies are effective in reducing symptoms associated with a number of anxiety disorders. However, few therapists use exposure techniques to treat these conditions, even when they are adequately trained in them, often because of concerns about provoking distress, drop out, logistical barriers, and other concerns. Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) can address many of these concerns, and a large body of research decisively shows that VRET is as efficacious for treating these conditions as in vivo exposures. Yet, use of VRET remains low. In this article, we discuss several factors we believe are contributing to low VRET adoption among therapists and raise potential solutions to address them. We consider steps that VR experience developers and researchers might take, such as leading studies of VRET's real-world effectiveness and treatment optimization trials and continuing to improve the fit of platforms with clinicians' workflows. We also discuss steps to address therapist reservations using aligned implementation strategies, as well as barriers for clinics, and the roles that professional organizations and payers could have in improving care by encouraging adoption of VRET.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.