Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Home-Based Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy with Virtual Health Agent Support

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Pervasive Computing Paradigms for Mental Health (MindCare 2015)

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 604))

Abstract

To increase the accessibility and efficiency of virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) this paper proposes a system for home-based use where patients with social phobia are supported by a virtual health agent. We present an overview of our system design, and discuss key techniques such as (1) dialogue techniques to create automated free speech dialogue between virtual characters and patients in virtual reality worlds; (2) a multi-modal automatic anxiety feedback-loop mechanism to control patients’ anxiety level; and (3) motivational techniques applied by a virtual health agent. The system was evaluated in a pilot study where five patients with social phobia utilized our home-based VRET system. The results showed that the system was able to evoke the required anxiety in patients and that over time self-reported anxiety and heart rate gradually decreased as expected in exposure therapy.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Data available at http://www.igroup.org/pq/ipq/data.php.

References

  1. Kessler, R.C., McGonagle, K.A., Zhao, S., Nelson, C.B., Hughes, M., Eshleman, S., Wittchen, H.-U., Kendler, K.S.: Lifetime and 12-month prevalence of DSM-III-R psychiatric-disorders in the United States - results from the national-comorbidity-survey. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 51(1), 8–19 (1994)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edn., Text Revision, Washington (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Anderson, P.L., Price, M., Edwards, S.M., Obasaju, M.A., Schmertz, S.K., Zimand, E., et al.: Virtual reality exposure therapy for social anxiety disorder: a randomized controlled trial. J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 81(5), 751 (2013). doi:10.1037/a0033559

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Meyerbroker, K., Emmelkamp, P.M.G.: Virtual reality exposure therapy in anxiety disorders: a systematic review of process-and-outcome studies. Depress. Anxiety 27(10), 933–944 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Gallego, M., Emmelkamp, P.M.G., van der Kooij, M., Mees, H.: The effects of a Dutch version of an internet-based treatment program for fear of public speaking: a controlled study. Int. J. Clin. Health Psychol. 11, 459–472 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Brinkman, W.P., Hartanto, D., Kang, N., de Vliegher, D., Kampmann, I.L., Morina, N., et al.: A virtual reality dialogue system for the treatment of social phobia. In: CHI 2012 on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1099–1102 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Emmelkamp, P.M.G.: Behavior therapy with adults. In: Lambert, M.J. (ed.) Bergin and Garfield’s Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behavior Change, 6th edn. Wiley, New York (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Craske, M.G., Barlow, D.H.: Mastery of your Anxiety and Worry: Client Workbook, 2nd edn. Oxford University Press Inc., New York (2006)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  9. Haeffel, G.J.: When self-help is no help: traditional cognitive skills training does not prevent depressive symptoms in people who ruminate. Behav. Res. Ther. 48(2010), 152–157 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Meyerbroker, K., Emmelkamp, P.M.G.: Therapeutic processes in virtual reality exposure therapy: the role of cognitions and the therapeutic alliance. CyberTherapy Rehabil. 1, 247–257 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Henkemans, O.A.B., van der Boog, P.J.M., Lindenberg, J., van der Mast, C.A.P.G., Neerincx, M.A., Zwetsloot-Schonkc, B.J.H.M.: An online lifestyle diary with a persuasive computer assistant providing feedback on self-management. Technol. Health Care 17, 253–267 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Andrade, A.S., McGruder, H.F., Wu, A.W., Celano, S.A., Skolasky, R.L.J., Selnes, O.A., et al.: A programmable prompting device improves adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected subjects with memory impairment. Clin. Infect. Dis. 41(6), 875–882 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Fogg, B.J.: Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do. Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, Amsterdam (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Hartanto, D., Brinkman, W.-P., Kampmann, I.L., Morina, N., Emmelkamp, P.G.M., Neerincx, M.A.: Design and implementation of home-based virtual reality exposure therapy system with a virtual eCoach. In: Brinkman, W.-P., Broekens, J., Heylen, D. (eds.) IVA 2015. LNCS, vol. 9238, pp. 287–291. Springer, Heidelberg (2015)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  15. Hofmann, S.G., Otto, M.W.: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder: Evidence-Based and Disorder Specific Treatment Techniques. Routledge, New York (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Grice, H.P.: Logic and conversation. In: Studies in Syntax and Semantics III: Speech Acts, pp. 183–198. Academic Press, New York (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Hartanto, D., Kampmann, I.L., Morina, N., Emmelkamp, P.M.G., Neerincx, M.A., Brinkman, W.-P.: Controlling social stress in virtual reality environments. PLoS ONE 9(3), e92804 (2014). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0092804

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. ter Heijden, N., Brinkman, W.-P.: Design and evaluation of a virtual reality exposure therapy system with automatic free speech interaction. J. CyberTherapy Rehabil. 4(1), 44–55 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Kang, N., Brinkman, W.-P., Riemsdijk, B.M., Neerincx, M.A.: An expressive virtual audience with flexible behavioral styles. IEEE Trans. Affect. Comput. 4(4), 326–340 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Hartanto, D., Kang, N., Brinkman, W.-P., Kampmann, I.L., Morina, N., Emmelkamp, P.M.G., et al.: Automatic mechanisms for measuring subjective unit of discomfort. Ann. Rev. Cybertherapy Telemedicine 192–197 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  21. Schubert, T., Friedmann, F., Regenbrecht, H.: The experience of presence: factor analytic insights. Presence: Teleoperators Virtual Environ. 10(3), 266–281 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research is supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), grant number 655.010.207. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands

    Dwi Hartanto, Willem-Paul Brinkman & Mark A. Neerincx

  2. University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Isabel L. Kampmann & Nexhmedin Morina

  3. King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    Paul G. M. Emmelkamp

  4. TNO Human Factors, Soesterberg, The Netherlands

    Mark A. Neerincx

  5. Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study, Wassenaar, The Netherlands

    Paul G. M. Emmelkamp

Authors
  1. Dwi Hartanto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Willem-Paul Brinkman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Isabel L. Kampmann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Nexhmedin Morina
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Paul G. M. Emmelkamp
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Mark A. Neerincx
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dwi Hartanto .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milano, Italy

    Silvia Serino

  2. Telefonica I+D, Barcelona, Spain

    Aleksandar Matic

  3. The Centre for Research and Technology, Thessalomiki/Thermi, Greece

    Dimitris Giakoumis

  4. Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo, Japan

    Guillaume Lopez

  5. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milano, Italy

    Pietro Cipresso

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this paper

Cite this paper

Hartanto, D., Brinkman, WP., Kampmann, I.L., Morina, N., Emmelkamp, P.G.M., Neerincx, M.A. (2016). Home-Based Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy with Virtual Health Agent Support. In: Serino, S., Matic, A., Giakoumis, D., Lopez, G., Cipresso, P. (eds) Pervasive Computing Paradigms for Mental Health. MindCare 2015. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 604. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32270-4_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32270-4_9

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-32269-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-32270-4

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation