Depressive
and virtual reality
Depressive disorders include a group of mood disorders, for example: disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, major depressive disorder (including major depressive episode), persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia)… What differs among them are issues of duration, timing, or presumed etiology. The common feature of all of these disorders is the presence of sad, empty, or irritable mood, accompanied by somatic and co changes that significantly affect the individual’s capacity to function (adapted from APA, 2013).
Depression affects an estimated one in 15 adults (6.7%) in any given year. And one in six people (16.6%) will experience depression at some time in their life (Kessler, RC, et al. 2005).
The mood in a major depressive episode is often described by the person as depressed, sad, hopeless, or discouraged. Some individuals may complain of feeling bored, having no feelings, or feeling anxious. Other individuals may emphasize somatic complaints (e.g., bodily aches and pains) rather than reporting feelings of sadness. Many individuals report or exhibit increased irritability. In children and adolescents, an irritable or cranky mood may develop rather than a sad or dejected mood. This presentation should be differentiated from a pattern of irritability when frustrated. (adapted from APA, 2013).
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) has a probably effective evidence-base in the treatment of major depressive disorder, the effects are large when the control condition is waiting list, but small to moderate when it is care-as-usual or pill placebo. of the small number of high-quality trials, these effects are still uncertain and should be considered with caution (Cuijpers, P. et al., 2016).
There is however a striking dearth of VR interventions for depression (Freeman, D., et al., 2017, Linder et al., 2019). This manual describes different ways of translating traditional CBT techniques for depression into the VR modality, as well as how to make use of the inherent capabilities of VR-unique experiences to improve depression symptoms. Psious’ “Depression” therapeutic area tools were grouped to help healthcare professionals on mood assessment and treatment, especially for major depressive disorder.
This tools can help for low-intensity depression symptomatology treatment using CBT evidence-based techniques: Behavioral Activation, Social Skills Training and Physical Activity, Cognitive Restructuring and Positive Affect Training (Linder et al, 2019, Craske et al., 2019).