A Randomized Control Trial of the use of Virtual Reality as an adjunct in the treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorders (VR-GAD)

NMRR-22-00741-C75

Anxiety disorder is the most frequently diagnosed disease with a global prevalence of 28.3%. To date, the main treatment for GAD is either pharmacotherapy, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and/or psychotherapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Recently, there is a rise of a promising modality – extended reality (XR) technology; its subtypes, virtual reality (VR) technology, might be a potential novel treatment. Studies have shown that VR as an adjunct to the standard treatment of anxiety disorders is a good alternative as it may reduce stigma, allowing for standard, repetitive and systematic treatment and exposure, and also reduce the potential side effects of pharmacotherapy in mild to moderate cases. Hence, this study aims to determine the efficacy of virtual reality modules as an adjunct therapy in improving the GAD-7 score among patients with GAD.