Publications by authors named "E C D van der Stouwe"
Article Synopsis
- - The study focused on how safety behaviors, used by individuals with paranoid delusions to cope with perceived threats, affect psychological symptoms like paranoia, social anxiety, and depression over time.
- - Researchers analyzed data from 116 patients diagnosed with a psychotic disorder, comparing those undergoing virtual reality cognitive-behavioral therapy (VR-CBT) and those receiving usual treatment, assessing changes in symptoms at three and six months.
- - Findings showed that a decrease in overall safety behaviors correlated with reduced paranoid ideation, social anxiety, and depression, but no link was found between changes in safety behaviors and cognitive biases or self-esteem.
Background: Virtual Reality cognitive behavioral therapy (VR-CBT) has proven to be an effective treatment method for paranoia and anxiety in psychosis. However, it is unknown, which individuals benefit most from VR-CBT. Previous studies examined factors affecting the treatment effect of regular CBTp, including illness duration, paranoia, depression, and pre-therapy avoidance behaviors, but results are inconsistent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Studies have consistently demonstrated increased stress sensitivity in individuals with psychosis. Since stress sensitivity may play a role in the onset and maintenance of psychosis, this could potentially be a promising target for treatment. The current study was the first to investigate whether reactivity to and recovery from daily-life stressors in psychosis change in response to treatment, namely virtual-reality-based cognitive behavioral therapy (VR-CBT).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Excessive self-criticism is a key psychological issue, but self-compassion can help individuals recover and become more resilient, making it a focus for treatment strategies.
- A study was conducted with 68 undergraduates to test a Virtual Reality (VR) intervention that involved roleplays where participants practiced self-compassion toward a virtual character reflecting their own self-critical thoughts.
- Results indicated that both roleplay conditions led to increased self-compassion and decreased self-criticism, but the addition of changing perspectives did not provide any extra benefits; simply showing compassion was enough to see improvements.
VR-SOAP, a modular virtual reality treatment for improving social activities and participation of young people with psychosis: a study protocol for a single-blind multi-centre randomized controlled trial.
Trials
April 2023
Article Synopsis
- Young people with psychotic disorders want to socialize like their peers but face barriers, including smaller networks and lower success in education and work, which current treatments don't fully address.
- A study is being conducted with 116 participants to assess the effectiveness of a new virtual reality treatment (VR-SOAP) compared to a control program (VRelax) over 14 sessions, focusing on improving social functioning.
- If successful, VR-SOAP could give therapists a valuable tool to enhance the social lives of young adults with these disorders.