190
Abstracts from CT15
propose the use of virtual environments for the treatment of OCD. In this paper we describe the three-dimensional VR models developed and data usability in a brief clinical sample compared with non-clinical population. Keywords: Virtual Reality, Cognitive Treatment, Obsessive-compulsive Disorder introduction There are studies on various treatments for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) – these include exposure treatment, response prevention and cognitive therapy. Treatment may be perceived as aversive since between 2535% of patients stop treatment because of anxiety they experience in traditional treatments. For these reasons, it is essential to develop and implement tools for the treatment of OCD and to reduce prevalence and improve the quality of life of patients with ADHD. In this way, the Virtual Learning Lab and Cyberpsychology Faculty of Psychology of UNAM, in collaboration with the Ixtli Observatory, are developing a treatment based on Virtual Reality (VR) technologies for obsessive-compulsive patients. The virtual scenarios show the trigger stimulus in a gradual and controlled way to reduce anxiety for an exposure treatment. obsessive-Compulsive disorder OCD constitutes a chronic anxiety disorder that is characterized by the emergence of obsessions that are persistent ideas, thoughts, sounds or images experienced as intrusive and inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or stress. Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment (CBT) for this disorder has had such an impact on efficiency, which is currently considered the treatment of choice for OCD. However, treatment may be perceived as aversive because it is based on prolonged exposure to feared stimuli and may cause discomfort. At least 25-30% or patients who seek psychological intervention refuse treatment or drop out prematurely (Franklin et al., 1998; Franklin et al., 2000) due to fear and anxiety they experience when they stop carrying out their rituals, strategies of neutralization or compulsive behaviors due to the belief that the dreaded consequences will occur. Virtual environments for oCd The potential of VR as a therapeutic tool for OCD has been considered. Taking into count the nature of this tech-
Figure 1. Dirty toilet for cleaning obsessions.
nology, it has the advantage that the clinician can modify different variables in everyday life situations which would be difficult to manage and control, besides being less aversive environments for patients than in vivo exposure therapy.
The complete treatment protocol include sessions of psychoeducation, breathing training, cognitive restructuring and exposure techniques using VR scenarios like a public restroom, a bus, a bedroom and a Mexican restaurant. Each one of these scenarios was developed in order to include triggers that a patient can find in everyday life and are contextualized to their culture, so the therapist can expose patients to such environments and control the variables within them The variables or elements included were developed with the aim to act as triggers for specific obsessive fears such as contamination, disorder and symmetry. references Franklin, M., Kozak, M., Cashman, L., Coles, M., Rheingold, A., & Foa, E., Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: An Open Trial, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 37 (1998). Franklin, M., Abramowitz, J. S., Kozak, M., Levitt, J., & Foa, E., Effectiveness of exposure and ritual prevention for obsessive-compulsive dosorder randomized compared with nonrandomized samples, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68 (2000),594-602. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– a Vr Tool for assisting geological field Trip Chun-Yen Changa,b,1, Ming-Chao Linb, Chau-Fu Yanga and Chun-Yen Linb Science Education Center and Graduate Institute of Science Education, National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan, ROC b Department of Earth Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan, ROC a
Corresponding author: Chun-Yen Chang
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JCR