Researchers from VU Amsterdam have developed an app which offers treatment against certain phobias. In the ZeroPhobia app, people experience a simulation of the phobia in gradual steps. Researcher and team leader Tara Donker hopes to make treatments for phobias more accessible, as only one percent of people suffering from a phobia receives treatment.
Many people suffer from a phobia. About 14 percent of the Dutch population suffers from fear of flying, and 7,2% of the global population suffers from fear of spiders. Cognitive behavioural therapy can help against phobias; with CBT, a person is gradually exposed to their fear under gudiance from a therapist. These therapies have been scientifically proven to be effective against these phobias.
However, few people with a phobia undergo such a therapy. Some people find the treatment itself too terrifying. Others cannot undergo therapy for phobias, because it is not covered by their insurance or because of long waiting lists. However, leaving phobias untreated can be detrimental to a person's quality of life or even lead to anxiety or depression.
A virtual spider or cabin
The ZeroPhobia is based on CBT and uses Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) to create a simulation of the phobias. For example, the flying simulation requires cardboard VR goggles to deliver the user the experience of flying in an airplane. The spider simulation uses the smartphone's camera to project a fake spider on the hand of the user. The app presents different environments or scenarios, in which the user can choose to increase the scariness.
Furthermore, the user will be guided by a virtual therapist, who gives information about the phobias, sets goals, and explains how the therapy works. Donker: "What's interesting about our app is that the users can evaluate their automatic thoughts. And the final module creates a fear hierarchy which users can use in real life to practice confronting their fears."
Scientifically proven
To measure the effectiveness of the treatments, research is being conducted with participants. In 2018, Tara Donker conducted research to the treatment of fear of heights with the app. She then did research in 2019 to the treatment of fear of flying. This research had 153 Dutch participants, who were randomly assigned to the treatment condition or a control condition. People in the former condition got access to the app and were at liberty to decide when, how often and where they used ZeroPhobia.
Participants’ fear of flying levels were measured before and immediately after the treatment, as well as 3 months and 12 months later. For the treatment group fear of flying symptoms were significantly reduced at all measurements points, whereas no changes were observed in the control group.
