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Virtual Reality and Sex Therapy: Future Directions for Clinical Research.

Journal of sex & marital therapy
January 1, 2020
David Lafortune et al. (3 authors)
Journal ArticleReviewHuman Study
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to review the current literature on VR in psychotherapy, particularly its relevance to mindfulness and sexual dysfunction treatment.

Results Summary

The study found that VR exposure-based therapy is empirically validated for anxiety disorders, and emerging research suggests potential benefits of combining VR and mindfulness for chronic pain treatment, though experimental research on SDs is lacking.

Population

Not specified (literature review)

Effective Dosage

Not available

Duration

Not specified

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (9)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
virtual reality (VR)
increase
psychological well-being
clients
-
providing clients with new learning experiences benefiting
#1
VR exposure-based therapy
increase
several mental disorders
-
-
effectiveness has been empirically validated
#2
VR exposure-based therapy
increase
anxiety disorders
-
-
effectiveness has been empirically validated
#3
combined use of VR and mindfulness
neutral
chronic pain treatment
-
-
tends to focus on
#4
immersive technologies
no change
treatment of SDs
-
-
experimental research examining the use is lacking
#5
specialized VR interventions
increase
sexual dysfunction (SD) treatment
-
-
may prove beneficial
#6
VR
increase
sex therapy
-
-
offers promising avenues
#7
VR
increase
treatment of genital pain disorders
-
-
offers promising avenues
#8
VR
increase
SDs in which anxiety plays a significant etiological role
-
-
offers promising avenues
#9
Abstract

Rapidly growing new technologies are revolutionizing the field of mental health, in terms of both understanding and treating mental disorders. Among these, virtual reality (VR) is a powerful tool providing clients with new learning experiences benefiting their psychological well-being. This article offers an overview of the current literature on VR in psychotherapy, highlighting its relevance to sexual dysfunction (SD) treatment.A literature review of PubMed and Google Scholar databases was used to provide a description of the theoretical frameworks and clinical indications associated with VR use in psychotherapy and SD treatment. The effectiveness of VR exposure-based therapy has been empirically validated for several mental disorders, notably anxiety disorders. The emerging combined use of VR and mindfulness tends to focus on chronic pain treatment. Experimental research examining the use of immersive technologies in the treatment of SDs is lacking.Given the shortcomings of conventional SD treatments, exploring and developing specialized VR interventions may prove beneficial. VR offers promising avenues in sex therapy, particularly for the treatment of genital pain disorders or SDs in which anxiety plays a significant etiological role.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
HumansMental HealthSexual Dysfunction, PhysiologicalSexual Dysfunctions, PsychologicalVirtual RealityVirtual Reality Exposure Therapy
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy75/10
Quality65/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations13
Citations/Year2.6
Relative Citation Ratio1.49
NIH Percentile64.9%
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.50
Weight Score2.08
Normalized Score0.63
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