The gold-standard treatment for social anxiety disorder: A roadmap for the future
Exposure therapy (ET), which follows the Pavlovian extinction model, is regarded as the gold-standard treatment for social anxiety disorder (SAD). The prospect of virtual reality in lieu of a traditional laboratory setting for the treatment of SAD has not been rigorously explored. The aim of the rev...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1070975/full |
| _version_ | 1797945139609468928 |
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| author | Nayeefa Chowdhury Ahsan H. Khandoker |
| author_facet | Nayeefa Chowdhury Ahsan H. Khandoker |
| author_sort | Nayeefa Chowdhury |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Exposure therapy (ET), which follows the Pavlovian extinction model, is regarded as the gold-standard treatment for social anxiety disorder (SAD). The prospect of virtual reality in lieu of a traditional laboratory setting for the treatment of SAD has not been rigorously explored. The aim of the review was to summarize, find gaps in the current literature, and formulate future research direction by identifying two broad research questions: the comparative efficacy between in vivo ET and virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) and the effectiveness of the Pavlovian extinction model in treating SAD. The criteria for effectiveness were effect size, relapse prevention, attrition rate and ecological validity. A literature search on recent randomized controlled trials yielded a total of 6 original studies (N=358), excluding duplication and overlapping participants. All studies supported that VRET was as effective as in vivo ET. Behavioral therapy that follows classical conditioning principles has a high attrition and relapse rate. Comparisons were drawn between the efficacy of the Pavlovian extinction model and other existing models, including third-wave approaches. The neural markers are suggested to be included as efficacy measures in treating SAD. The gold-standard treatment for SAD requires a paradigm shift through rigorous longitudinal comparative studies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T20:50:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bd53ad52c70c47e1915241de385febcc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T20:50:34Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-bd53ad52c70c47e1915241de385febcc2023-01-23T17:04:34ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782023-01-011310.3389/fpsyg.2022.10709751070975The gold-standard treatment for social anxiety disorder: A roadmap for the futureNayeefa Chowdhury0Ahsan H. Khandoker1School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaHealthcare Engineering Innovation Center, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesExposure therapy (ET), which follows the Pavlovian extinction model, is regarded as the gold-standard treatment for social anxiety disorder (SAD). The prospect of virtual reality in lieu of a traditional laboratory setting for the treatment of SAD has not been rigorously explored. The aim of the review was to summarize, find gaps in the current literature, and formulate future research direction by identifying two broad research questions: the comparative efficacy between in vivo ET and virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) and the effectiveness of the Pavlovian extinction model in treating SAD. The criteria for effectiveness were effect size, relapse prevention, attrition rate and ecological validity. A literature search on recent randomized controlled trials yielded a total of 6 original studies (N=358), excluding duplication and overlapping participants. All studies supported that VRET was as effective as in vivo ET. Behavioral therapy that follows classical conditioning principles has a high attrition and relapse rate. Comparisons were drawn between the efficacy of the Pavlovian extinction model and other existing models, including third-wave approaches. The neural markers are suggested to be included as efficacy measures in treating SAD. The gold-standard treatment for SAD requires a paradigm shift through rigorous longitudinal comparative studies.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1070975/fullsocial anxiety disorderclassical conditioningrandomized controlled trialvirtual realitycognitive behavioral therapythird-wave CBT |
| spellingShingle | Nayeefa Chowdhury Ahsan H. Khandoker The gold-standard treatment for social anxiety disorder: A roadmap for the future Frontiers in Psychology social anxiety disorder classical conditioning randomized controlled trial virtual reality cognitive behavioral therapy third-wave CBT |
| title | The gold-standard treatment for social anxiety disorder: A roadmap for the future |
| title_full | The gold-standard treatment for social anxiety disorder: A roadmap for the future |
| title_fullStr | The gold-standard treatment for social anxiety disorder: A roadmap for the future |
| title_full_unstemmed | The gold-standard treatment for social anxiety disorder: A roadmap for the future |
| title_short | The gold-standard treatment for social anxiety disorder: A roadmap for the future |
| title_sort | gold standard treatment for social anxiety disorder a roadmap for the future |
| topic | social anxiety disorder classical conditioning randomized controlled trial virtual reality cognitive behavioral therapy third-wave CBT |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1070975/full |
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