A Randomized Controlled Efficacy Trial of a Telemedicine-based Virtual Reality Clinic for the Treatment of Phobias

Conditions

• Specific Phobia, Animal

Eligibility Criteria

Sex

ALL

Age

18 Years - N/A

Healthy Volunteers

Not accepted

Interventions

• Telemedicine-Based Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy — BEHAVIORAL
  Participants will complete 7 60-minute exposure therapy sessions in a Virtual Reality Clinic using Virtual Reality stimuli and progress to in vivo exposures. Other Name:
• Telemedicine-Based Exposure Therapy Using Photos and Videos — BEHAVIORAL
  Participants will complete 7 60-minute exposure therapy sessions using photos/videos and progress to in vivo exposures.

Study Details

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a telemedicine-based virtual reality clinic (Doxy.me VR) works to treat dog, spider, and snake phobias in adults. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does Doxy.me VR decrease the severity of phobias better than traditional telemedicine-based treatment? Does this work because it feels more realistic than telemedicine alone?

Key Dates

Start date

Apr 30, 2026

Status verified

Feb 2026

Primary completion

Dec 31, 2027

Completion

Jan 31, 2028

Study Design

Enrollment

240 participants (estimated)

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Arms

• Experimental: Telemedicine-based Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy
  This group will receive exposure therapy in a telemedicine-based Virtual Reality Clinic using virtual reality snakes, dogs, or spiders. The VR stimuli range from small to medium to large and have four activity levels: idle, calm, energetic, and aggressive.
• Active Comparator: Standard Telemedicine-Based Exposure Therapy
  This group will receive exposure therapy via Doxy.me telemedicine platform using photos and videos of snakes, dogs, or spiders. The photo/video stimuli range from small to medium to large and have four activity levels: idle, calm, energetic, and aggressive.

Primary Outcome Measure

Phobia symptom severity [ Time Frame: Baseline, 4 Weeks Post-Baseline (Mid-Treatment), 7 Weeks Post-Baseline (Post-Treatment), and 28 weeks Post-Baseline (3-Months Post-Treatment) ]

Central Contacts

• Maureen Jacobs Plaisimond
  813-396-0060
  [email protected]

Locations (1)

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