title: Efficacy of virtual reality exposure therapy to treat driving phobia: a case report.
abstract: An AB case design was used to examine the efficacy of virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) in treating driving phobia. After a one week baseline, the patient received three treatment sessions over a ten day period. Treatment included practice of four VR driving scenarios. Peak anxiety decreased within and across sessions. Ratings of anxiety and avoidance declined from pre-treatment and post-treatment, with gains maintained at seven month followup. Phobia-related interference in daily functioning similarly decreased. The results suggest that it would be useful to further evaluate the efficacy of VRET for driving phobia in controlled clinical trials.
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational and Counselling, University of British Columbia, Psychology and Special Education, Vancouver, Canada. jwald@interchange.ubc.ca
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wald
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taylor
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003887:Desensitization, Psychologic; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D010555:Personality Inventory; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014584:User-Computer Interface