Virtual reality psychotherapy for young people with depression

A pioneering clinical trial will test a virtual reality psychotherapy for young people with depression.

The trial, coordinated by the Open University of Catalonia (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, UOC) and the University of Barcelona (UB), will for the first time examine the efficacy of a form of psychotherapy for depression, complemented by a virtual reality tool.

Some studies reveal worrying figures regarding young people who show symptoms of depression. “We are talking about figures that reach between 60-80% of young people, including those diagnosed with mild symptoms. And the figures have probably increased with the pandemic,” explains Adrián Montesano, professor and researcher at the UOC’s Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences. “In most cases, the symptoms are mild, but we know that the sooner pay attention to these problems, the less likely they are to last long-term or get worse,” Montesano completes.

A clinical trial, coordinated by Montesano himself and by the professor of the Faculty of Psychology and the Institute of Neurosciences of the UB (UBNeuro), Guillem Feixas, will examine new tools to try to improve the psychological treatment of these people. The study will analyze the usefulness of the so-called personal construct therapy in young people between 18 and 29 years old with mild or moderate symptoms of depression. In addition, it will explore whether it is more effective to apply it in conjunction with a new and pioneering virtual reality application.

“Personal construct therapy is especially focused on how people construct their reality and the meaning they give to things that happen to them and to the people around them,” explains Montesano. In recent decades, it has been showing positive results, but “this is the first trial to apply it specifically to young people with depressive symptoms,” he adds. Its effectiveness will be compared with that of cognitive-behavioral therapy, which is considered the reference and is based especially on observable behaviors.

Virtual reality recreated landscape. (Image: Amazings/NCYT)

Virtual reality applications have been tested in exposure therapies to treat some types of phobias, but “this is the first time that it will be investigated in the treatment of depression and as psychotherapy in general,” confirms Montesano. The application, called EYME, is a pioneering development of the UB itself. Through a previous interview, the system transforms the meanings and important people in the identity into a 3D space in the form of spheres and words. This allows, according to Montesano, “to accompany the person on a walk through his mind, through his universe of meanings and personal values, favoring therapeutic conversation. The algorithms he uses are based on the work accumulated over two decades and we believe that it may have an added value among the young population, in which it can improve adherence to treatment and the attractiveness of psychotherapy”.

Precisely, one of the keys to psychological therapy is the involvement of the patient. Various types of psychotherapy have shown equivalent efficacy globally, but approximately 35% of patients drop out of treatment before it is considered complete. If the clinical trial turns out to be positive, it would help open up the range of options available. “It’s critical to be able to customize based on personal preference,” says Montesano.

The test has already begun and the first consultations are taking place at the universities involved, as well as at health centers and hospitals associated with the project. It will include 225 patients, and recruitment will remain open until the beginning of 2023. The candidates are young people between 18 and 29 years old with mild or moderate symptoms of depression, who will be offered “free therapy sessions with scientific quality, conducted by expert professionals as part of the study,” explains Montesano. Volunteers can sign up directly at the project website.

“Traditionally, interventions and research in psychotherapy have focused on the most severe forms, which in part has led to young people being underrepresented,” Montesano acknowledges. “We now know that the sooner the problem is addressed, the better the long-term results will be, so we have to reverse the trend. This is already happening in society, and it is something that has to happen in research as well,” he concludes. (Source: UOC)