Lindner Philip, Hamilton William, Miloff Alexander, Carlbring Per
Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, & Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden.
Front Psychiatry. 2019 Oct 31;10:792. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00792. eCollection 2019.
Depression is a common mental disorder with a large treatment gap. Low-intensity, automated virtual reality (VR) interventions (not requiring a therapist) is a scalable and promising solution now that VR is an accessible and mature, consumer technology. Yet unlike with phobias, there have been few attempts at translating evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapeutic (CBT) techniques for depression into the VR modality. In this paper, we discuss how specific CBT techniques can be made into VR experiences, including psychoeducation, behavioral activation, cognitive restructuring, and social skills training. We also discuss how VR-unique experiences, such as alternative embodiment and virtual pet interactions, can be made therapeutic. Creating a pre-clinical and clinical evidence base for these types of novel interventions should be considered a research priority, and high-quality development on par with other consumer VR applications will be essential to the success of any consumer-targeted intervention. If this is achieved, low-intensity VR interventions for depression have great potential to make an impact on public mental health.
抑郁症是一种常见的精神障碍，治疗缺口很大。低强度、自动化虚拟现实（VR）干预（无需治疗师）是一种可扩展且有前景的解决方案，因为VR是一种易于获取且成熟的消费技术。然而，与恐惧症不同的是，将基于证据的抑郁症认知行为疗法（CBT）技术转化为VR模式的尝试很少。在本文中，我们讨论了如何将特定的CBT技术转化为VR体验，包括心理教育、行为激活、认知重构和社交技能训练。我们还讨论了如何使VR独特的体验，如替代化身和虚拟宠物互动，具有治疗作用。为这类新型干预措施建立临床前和临床证据基础应被视为研究重点，与其他消费级VR应用同等质量的高质量开发对于任何面向消费者的干预措施的成功至关重要。如果能够实现这一点，针对抑郁症的低强度VR干预措施有很大潜力对公众心理健康产生影响。
