La validación transcultural de intervenciones clínicas basadas en evidencia para el tratamiento de trastornos de ansiedad

Las aplicaciones de tecnologías avanzadas han generado la emergencia de un espacio de investigación en ciencias del comportamiento. El creciente acervo de publicaciones, sobre la eficacia y eficiencia de programas de intervención para una serie de trastornos psicológicos, plan- tea la necesidad de fortalecerlos, evaluando su generalización a otros contextos culturales para contribuir a la medición de la validez externa. Mediante la colaboración de dos grupos de investi- gación, se realizó la validación transcultural de tres intervenciones empleando realidad virtual para el tratamiento de miedo a volar, agorafobia y miedo a hablar en público con un programa auto-apli- cado, que demostraron p…

An adaptive display to treat stress-related disorders: EMMA's World

ABSTRACT Most of the virtual environments currently available in the field of psychological treatments were designed to solve a specific problem. Our research group has developed a versatile virtual reality system (an adaptive display) called ‘EMMA's world’, which can address a wide range of problems. It was designed to assist in clinical situations where a person has suffered a stressful experience, for example post-traumatic stress disorder, adjustment disorder, and pathological grief. To accomplish therapeutic goals, a series of emotional virtual elements are used and personalised so that they are meaningful to the user and contain the fundamental emotional elements that the person must …

Meditation and happiness: Mindfulness and self-compassion may mediate the meditation–happiness relationship

Mindfulness and self-compassion are emerging as crucial constructs in mental health research. Recent studies have shown that both mindfulness and self-compassion skills may play important roles in well-being and positive emotions associated with mindfulness training. Studies are needed to explain this relationship and to determine what facets may be correlating and mediating the meditation-happiness relationship. The aim of this study was to explore the meditation-happiness relationship and examine which mindfulness and self compassion facets are better predictors of happiness. A total of 365 participants completed an assessment protocol composed of: the Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionn…

Treating cockroach phobia using a serious game on a mobile phone and augmented reality exposure: A single case study

In vivo exposure has proved its efficacy in the treatment of specific phobias; however, not all patients benefit from it. Communication and information technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) have improved exposure treatment adherence and acceptance. Serious games (SG) could also be used in order to facilitate exposure treatment. A line of research on SG is emerging which focuses on health issues. We have developed a SG for the treatment of cockroach phobia that uses a mobile phone as the application device. This work examines results of an N = 1 study about whether the use of this mobile game can facilitate treatment of this specific phobia preparing her for th…

Detection and distraction effects for threatening information in social phobia and change after treatment.

This work examines differences in the detection and distraction by social-threatrelated information between a social phobia group (SP; N533) and a normal control group (NC; N532). The change obtained after psychological treatment is also studied for the SP group. A paper-and-pencil visual search task is used, in which the emotional valence of the ‘‘target’’ (social threat, physical threat, and neutral words) and ‘‘distractor’’ (social threat, physical threat, neutral, and nonsense words) verbal stimuli is manipulated. Results indicate that there are no differences in the detection of social-threat targets between SP and NC participants. However, the performance of SP individuals is more imp…

Cohort Profile: Design and methods of the PREDIMED-Plus randomized trial

The PREDIMED (in Spanish: PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea) primary prevention trial1–3 reported in 2013 that long-term adherence to an energy-unrestricted Mediterranean diet (MedDiet), supplemented with either extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) or nuts, reduced cardiovascular disease (CVD). PREDIMED showed a 30% relative reduction in the composite cardiovascular primary endpoint (stroke, myocardial infarction or cardiovascular death).2,,3 However, the PREDIMED trial tested only the composition of the diet, but did not test other lifestyle interventions (i.e. energy reduction, increased physical activity (PA) and behavioural modification) frequently applied in the context of the current unprece…

Exergames on Line for Childhood Obesity: Using a Web Platform as an Ambulatory Program to Increase the Acceptance and Adherence to Physical Activity (PA)

Many initiatives exist to promote physical activity (PA) in children but dropouts are a very common outcome. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are considered as useful tools to promote adherence in PA. This study analyzes the acceptance and adherence of an Internet-based exergame (MOVE-IT) to promote PA compared to a non-technological ambulatory intervention (NTI). The role of clinicians support is also analyzed. Thirty one obese children (9–15 aged) were asked to do an exercise routine (3 times/week along 3 months), using a pamphlet (NTI) or MOVE-IT web. In addition, MOVE-IT participants were divided into two groups, with and without (S-EBW/NS-EBW) weekly support. Results s…

Relationship between eating styles and temperament in an Anorexia Nervosa, Healtlhy Control, and Morbid Obesity female sample.

Contains fulltext : 127209.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Objectives: Eating styles have been studied in both Obesity (OB) and Eating Disorders (ED), but they have not been examined in these two weight conditions together. The present study explores differences in eating styles in an Anorexia Nervosa (AN) and OB sample, compared to Healthy Controls (HC), and it analyses their relationship with Body Mass Index (BMI) and personality traits. Method: The total sample consisted of 291 female participants (66 AN, 79 OB and 146 HC). Evaluation: Assessment measures included the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire-DEBQ- and the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised-TCI-R-. Results…

Online Positive Interventions to Promote Well-being and Resilience in the Adolescent Population: A Narrative Review

Numerous studies have shown an alarming prevalence of depression, anxiety, and behavior disorders in youth. Thus, prevention of psychological problems in this population becomes crucial. According to the World Health Organization (1), prevention should also include the promotion and development of the individual’s strengths in order to reduce vulnerability to suffering from mental disorders. In addition, other key elements of prevention are the reach, adoption, implementation, and maintenance of interventions. The information and communication technologies, especially the Internet, have much to offer in terms of the prevention and promotion of positive mental health in adolescents. This pap…

Prevalencia del trastorno por atracón en una muestra clínica de obesos

Resumen: Introducción: El trastorno por atracón se caracteriza por presencia de episodios de sobreingesta recurrentes en un periodo corto, acompañados de pérdida de control. Este trastorno es el más frecuente de entre todos los trastornos de la conducta alimentaria en población obesa, tanto en adultos como en niños. Objetivo: El objetivo de este estudio fue obtener datos prevalencia del trastorno por atracón en una muestra de niños y adolescentes obesos, usuarios de una unidad de pediatría especializada en el tratamiento de la obesidad infantil. Material y métodos: Se contó con una muestra 70 niños y adolescentes con edades comprendidas entre los 9 y los 16 años, con una edad media de 12 añ…

Virtual reality treatment of flying phobia.

Flying phobia (FP) might become a very incapacitating and disturbing problem in a person's social, working, and private areas. Psychological interventions based on exposure therapy have proved to be effective, but given the particular nature of this disorder they bear important limitations. Exposure therapy for FP might be excessively costly in terms of time, money, and efforts. Virtual reality (VR) overcomes these difficulties as different significant environments might be created, where the patient can interact with what he or she fears while in a totally safe and protected environment, the therapist's consulting room. This paper intends, on one hand, to show the different scenarios desig…

A guided Internet-delivered intervention for adjustment disorders

© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Evidence of self-help interventions for adjustment disorder (AjD) is limited. This study aims at testing in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) the effectiveness of a disorder-specific, Internet-delivered cognitive–behavioural therapy (ICBT) intervention for AjD. Participants were randomly allocated to either an ICBT with brief weekly telephone support (n = 34) or a waiting list group (n = 34). Beck's inventories for depression and anxiety were used as primary outcomes. The secondary outcomes were AjD symptoms, post-traumatic growth, positive and negative affect, and quality of life. In all, 76.5% of the participants completed the intervention. Compared with th…

Effect of a Lifestyle Intervention Program With Energy-Restricted Mediterranean Diet and Exercise on Weight Loss and Cardiovascular Risk Factors: One-Year Results of the PREDIMED-Plus Trial

OBJECTIVE The long-term impact of intentional weight loss on cardiovascular events remains unknown. We describe 12-month changes in body weight and cardiovascular risk factors in PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea (PREDIMED)-Plus, a trial designed to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of an intensive weight loss lifestyle intervention on primary cardiovascular prevention. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Overweight/obese adults with metabolic syndrome aged 55–75 years (n = 626) were randomized to an intensive weight loss lifestyle intervention based on an energy-restricted Mediterranean diet, physical activity promotion, and behavioral support (IG) or a control group (CG). The primary and seco…

Efficacy of a Transdiagnostic internet-based treatment for emotional disorders with a specific component to address positive affect: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background Emotional disorders (ED) are among the most prevalent mental disorders. However, less than 50% of people suffering from ED receive the appropriate treatment. This situation has led to the development of new intervention proposals based on the transdiagnostic perspective, which tries to address the underlying processes common to ED. Most of these programs focus primarily on down-regulating negative affectivity, rather than increasing strengths and up-regulating positive affectivity. The data suggest the existence of disturbances in positive affectivity in these disorders, and so new interventions focusing on these problems are greatly needed. It is also essential to provide assist…

Predicting response to transdiagnostic iCBT for emotional disorders from patient and therapist involvement

Background Transdiagnostic iCBT has been shown to be effective for the treatment of emotional disorders. Less is known about the optimal level of therapist and patient involvement in these interventions. Specific characteristics of Internet-delivered interventions include treatment adherence (e.g., amount of review of the materials) and guidance (e.g., amount of therapist support). Exploring the importance of these elements in treatment outcome may help to maximize the efficiency of Internet-delivered psychological interventions. Aim In this study, we aimed to analyze the relationship between patient and therapist involvement (i.e., platform usage and amount of therapist guidance) in a samp…

Modulation of Irisin and Physical Activity on Executive Functions in Obesity and Morbid obesity

Whether the executive profile is different between obesity (OB) and morbid obesity (MO) remains unclear. Recent evidence suggests that physical activity (PA) can act as a cognitive enhancer. Irisin is a recently discovered hormone associated with some of the positive effects of PA. The objective of the study was to investigate the executive profile in OB and MO, and to explore the role of PA and irisin. 114 participants were included (21 OB, 44 MO and 49 healthy controls-HC) in the study and assessed with the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Stroop Color and Word Test, and Iowa Gambling Task. All participants were female, aged between 18 and 60 years. Results showed a similar dysfunctional prof…

Clients’ Experiences With Internet-Based Psychological Treatments for Mental Disorders: Protocol for a Metasynthesis of Qualitative Studies

Background: Given the rise of internet-based treatments as an effective therapeutic tool for psychological disorders, it is necessary to carry out research that examines clients’ experiences with this type of intervention. The qualitative methodology has been found to be useful for analyzing clients’ perceptions in terms of facilitators and barriers, acceptability, and negative effects of internet-based treatments. However, a lack of integration of these primary studies has prevented their findings from being applied to new research and in clinical practice. Objective: The objective of this paper is to describe the protocol for a metasynthesis of qualitative studies exploring the experience…

Efficacy of low-intensity psychological intervention applied by ICTs for the treatment of depression in primary care: a controlled trial

Background: Depression is one of the most common disorders in Psychiatric and Primary Care settings and is associated with significant disability and economic costs. Low-intensity psychological interventions applied by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) could be an efficacious and cost-effective therapeutic option for the treatment of depression. The aim of this study is to assess 3 low-intensity psychological interventions applied by ICTs (healthy lifestyle, positive affect and mindfulness) in Primary Care; significant efficacy for depression treatment has previously showed in specialized clinical settings by those interventions, but ICTs were not used. Method: Multicenter c…

La realidad virtual en las intervenciones psicológicas con pacientes oncológicos

El objetivo de este trabajo es presentar las principales aportaciones de la Realidad Virtual (RV) en el tratamiento psicologico con pacientes oncologicos, y describir un programa de intervencion que utiliza esta tecnologia para promover bienestar emocional en pacientes hospitalizados. La RV se presenta como una prometedora herramienta de apoyo al paciente oncologico. Diversos estudios plantean su utilidad para hacer algunos tratamientos medicos mas tolerables, para reducir los niveles de distres y dolor, asi como promover mayores niveles de emociones positivas. Se ha empleado principalmente con pacientes ambulatorios, existiendo una menor proporcion de propuestas dirigidas al periodo de hos…

Effectiveness of a transdiagnostic internet-based protocol for the treatment of emotional disorders versus treatment as usual in specialized care: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Emotional disorders (depression and anxiety disorders) are highly prevalent mental health problems. Although evidence showing the effectiveness of disorder-specific treatments exists, high comorbidity rates among emotional disorders limit the utility of these protocols. This has led some researchers to focus their interest on transdiagnostic interventions, a treatment perspective that might be more widely effective across these disorders. Also, the current way of delivering treatments makes it difficult provide assistance to all of the population in need. The use of the Internet in the delivery of evidence-based treatments may help to disseminate treatments among the population. In this stu…

Positive Technologies for Understanding and Promoting Positive Emotions

AbstractInformation and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have become increasingly present in our lives, and their use has spread considerably. This paper presents a review of the way ICTs can help practitioners and researchers to study, promote, and train positive emotions. It is framed within the field of Positive Technologies: the applied scientific approach to the study of the use of technology to improve the quality of personal experience, with the goal of increasing wellbeing. First, the article presents an introduction to the topic of technologies and positive emotions. Then, it describes how ICTs can aid in monitoring, assessing, promoting, modifying, and training positive emotions.…

Using Virtual Reality to Distract Overweight Children from Bodily Sensations During Exercise

This study analyzes the potential of virtual reality (VR) to enhance attentional distraction in overweight children as they experience bodily sensations during exercise. It has been suggested that one reason why obese children stop exercising is the perception of bodily sensations. In a counterbalanced design, a total of 109 children (33 overweight, 10-15 years old) were asked to walk twice for 6 minutes on a treadmill under one of two conditions: (a) traditional condition (TC)-focusing their attention on their physical feelings and sensations or (b) distraction condition (DC)-focusing their attention on a virtual environment. Attentional focus during exercise, bad-good feeling states (pre-…

Modulation of the Endocannabinoids N-Arachidonoylethanolamine (AEA) and 2-Arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) on Executive Functions in Human.

Animal studies point to an implication of the endocannabinoid system on executive functions. In humans, several studies have suggested an association between acute or chronic use of exogenous cannabinoids (Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol) and executive impairments. However, to date, no published reports establish the relationship between endocannabinoids, as biomarkers of the cannabinoid neurotransmission system, and executive functioning in humans. The aim of the present study was to explore the association between circulating levels of plasma endocannabinoids N-arachidonoylethanolamine (AEA) and 2-Arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) and executive functions (decision making, response inhibition and cognit…

Psychometric properties of the Spanish validation of the Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ)

Background and Objectives: Mindfulness-based therapies have demonstrat- ed effectiveness in many clinical contexts. Various therapies that train mindfulness skills have proliferated in recent years. There is increasing interest in mindfulness-based thera- pies and in incorporating instruments that measure mindfulness in order to understand its role in clinical and basic research. The Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) is a questionnaire for measuring mindfulness; it was derived from a factor analysis of five different questionnaires that measure a trait-like general tendency to be mindful in daily life. The objective of this study is to validate the FFMQ in a Spanish sample. Me…

Efficacy of a blended low-intensity internet-delivered psychological programme in patients with multimorbidity in primary care: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BackgroundThe World Health Organization (WHO) has included comorbidity between depression and a chronic disease among the 10 leading global health priorities. Although there is a high prevalence of multimorbidity, health care systems are mainly designed for the management of individual diseases. Given the difficulty in delivering face-to-face psychological treatments, alternative models of treatment delivery have been proposed, emphasizing the role of technologies such as the Internet. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy in Primary Care (PC) of a blended low-intensity psychological intervention applied using information and communication technologies (ICTs) for the treatment of …

Negative and Positive Affect Regulation in a Transdiagnostic Internet-Based Protocol for Emotional Disorders: Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Emotional disorders (EDs) are among the most prevalent mental disorders. Existing evidence-based psychological treatments are not sufficient to reduce the disease burden of mental disorders. It is therefore essential to implement innovative solutions to achieve a successful dissemination of psychological treatment protocols, and in this regard, the use of information and communication technologies such as the internet can be very useful. Furthermore, the literature suggests that not everyone with an ED receives the appropriate treatment. This situation has led to the development of new intervention proposals based on the transdiagnostic perspective, which attempts to address the…

Implementation of a Positive Technology Application in Patients With Eating Disorders: A Pilot Randomized Control Trial.

Background: Positive psychological interventions (PPIs) have been suggested to produce benefits in patients with eating disorders (ED) by improving well-being, which might act as a buffer of the harmful effects caused by the disorder. Best Possible Self (BPS) is a PPI which consists of writing and envisioning a future where everything has turned out in the best possible way. In this regard, positive technology (PT) can be of considerable benefit as it allows to implement specific PPIs that have already shown efficacy. Objective: This study tested the preliminary efficacy of the BPS exercise implemented through a PT application and carried out for 1 month, in improving positive functioning m…

Blended transdiagnostic group CBT for emotional disorders: A feasibility trial protocol

Introduction Emotional disorders (anxiety and depressive disorders) are a relevant public health concern associated with high prevalence, high costs, and important disability. Therefore, research priorities include designing and testing cost-effective interventions to reach everyone in need. Internet-delivered interventions for emotional disorders are effective and can help to disseminate and implement evidence-based treatments. However, although these treatments are generally effective, not all patients benefit from this treatment format equally. Blended treatments are a new form of intervention that combines the strengths of face-to-face and Internet approaches. Nevertheless, research on …

Smiling is Fun, an online intervention for the prevention and treatment of emotional disorders

Los trastornos emocionales representan una problemática en Salud Mental que conlleva un elevado costo personal y social, por lo que diseñar herramientas para su tratamiento y prevención es uno de los desafíos actuales de la psicología clínica. El programa Sonreír es Divertido es un sistema online diseñado bajo la perspectiva transdiagnóstica y el protocolo unificado de Barlow. En este trabajo se presenta una descripción del programa y datos preliminares de su eficacia, obtenidos en un estudio piloto llevado a cabo en España. El programa se muestra capaz de disminuir la sintomatología depresiva y ansiosa, así como de mejorar el afecto positivo y negativo de los participantes. Estos datos pre…

Virtual Reality and Anxiety Disorders Treatment: Evolution and Future Perspectives

Virtual reality (VR) is a technology that allows the simulation of different real-life situations on a tridimensional computer-generated environment where the user can interact with the environment as if he/she were the real world. VR has potential as an exposure technique for treating anxiety disorders because VR and real objects have similar characteristics, which creates the illusion that the user is immersed and engaged with objects in the real world. Regarding the efficacy of using virtual reality exposure-based therapy (VR-EBT), for more than two decades, there has been sufficient empirical evidence regarding VR-EBT for treating anxiety disorders. Finally, this chapter ends with some …

The need for a behavioural science focus in research on mental health and mental disorders

Psychology as a science offers an enormous diversity of theories, principles, and methodological approaches to understand mental health, abnormal functions and behaviours and mental disorders. A selected overview of the scope, current topics as well as strength and gaps in Psychological Science may help to depict the advances needed to inform future research agendas specifically on mental health and mental disorders. From an integrative psychological perspective, most maladaptive health behaviours and mental disorders can be conceptualized as the result of developmental dysfunctions of psychological functions and processes as well as neurobiological and genetic processes that interact with …

Positive clinical psychology and positive technologies

La Psicología Clínica ha avanzado notablemente en los últimos 100 años y en estos momentos disponemos ya de tratamientos psicológicos basados en la evidencia. Ahora bien, esto no es óbice para seguir mejorando esta disciplina. En los últimos 20 años se han producido dos importantes desarrollos que han resultado beneficiosos para este campo. Por una parte, lo que ha supuesto el movimiento de la Psicología Positiva y su cristalización en la Psicología Clínica Positiva. Por otra, la introducción de las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación (TICs) para mejorar la práctica clínica cotidiana. En este trabajo se abordan estos avances y se presenta un nuevo campo de estudio que intenta es…

Acceptability of virtual reality interoceptive exposure for the treatment of panic disorder with agoraphobia

Interoceptive exposure (IE) is a standard component of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for panic disorder and agoraphobia. The virtual reality (VR) program ‘Panic-Agoraphobia’ has several virtual scenarios designed for applying exposure to agoraphobic situations; it can also simulate physical sensations. This work examines patients' acceptability of the IE component as applied in two different ways: using VR versus traditional IE. Additionally, it explores the relationship between users' treatment expectations and satisfaction and clinically significant change. Results showed that VR and traditional IE were well accepted by all participants. Furthermore, treatment expectations predicted…

Programa de revisión de vida apoyado en las nuevas tecnologías para las personas mayores: Una aplicación de tecnologías positivas

Existe una importante prevalencia de sintomatología depresiva en la población de la tercera edad. Sin embargo, pocas personas mayores reciben tratamiento adecuados para este tipo de dolencias. Entre las opciones terapéuticas disponibles figura la técnica de Revisión de Vida (RV). El objetivo de este artículo es presentar un programa de terapia para personas mayores basado en la técnica de Revisión de Vida a través de las nuevas tecnologías. El programa terapéutico se encuentra implantado en una plataforma tecnológica de e-salud (Sistema Mayordomo) y se enfoca en el entrenamiento de la recuperación de recuerdos autobiográficos específicos positivos. La herramienta tecnológica se dirige a enr…

An Internet based intervention for improving resilience and coping strategies in university students: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background The literature shows a high prevalence of depression and anxiety in young people. The university represents a change in the lives of students, and is considered a stress factor. Therefore, it is particularly relevant to develop interventions specifically addressed to students and foster supportive environments and resilient communities. As students are “digital natives”, online interventions offer several potential advantages in doing this. This study aims to develop and evaluate the efficacy of an Internet-based intervention (CORE: Cultivating our Resilience), based on the Ryff model of well-being, to promote resilience and coping skills, decrease symptoms of depression and anxi…

Theoretical adequacy, methodological quality and efficacy of online interventions targeting resilience: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background There is a growing interest in the promotion of mental health, and concepts as resilience are re-emerging and taking relevance. In addition, Information and Communication Technologies can provide potential benefits in the field of mental health, and the treatment of mental disorders in particular. This study aims to synthesize the evidence of internet-based resilience interventions, analyzing the theoretical adequacy, methodological quality and efficacy. Methods A systematic search was performed. The eligibility criteria stated for this article were: randomized controlled trials targeted at adults or adolescents and including any psychological intervention focussing on r…

Internet-Based Intervention for Secondary and Tertiary Prevention of Depressive Symptoms

Depression is one of the most disabling psychological disorders worldwide. A very important challenge today consists on addressing the issue of depression from a preventive perspective. A growing body of research supports the efficacy of Internet-based treatments. We have developed an Internet-based program (Smiling is Fun) with the objective of helping people in prevention of depression and anxiety symptoms. It is based on classical cognitive behavioral techniques, such as behavioural activation, and also includes other positive psychological strategies to improve coping ability and positive mood. We applied this intervention program in people who had to cope at least with one stressor in …

A Positive Technology System for the Promotion of Well-Being: From the Lab to the Hospital Setting

There is growing evidence of the effectiveness of Positive Psychology Interventions (PPIs) to enhance subjective and psychological well-being in different populations, and the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are becoming into a key help to increase the efficiency of this type of interventions. Recently, the use of technology to foster well-being and personal growth has been named as Positive Technology. The aim of this paper is to describe and to present data about a positive technology example (EARTH of Well-being system) and to examine its usefulness in different populations and settings. Data of four studies are presented: two with non-clinical population (university st…

An Internet-based treatment for flying phobia (NO-FEAR Airlines): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Flying phobia (FP) is a common and disabling mental disorder. Although in vivo exposure is the treatment of choice, it is linked to a number of limitations in its implementation. Particularly important, is the limited access to the feared stimulus (i.e., plane). Moreover, the economic cost of in vivo exposure should be specially considered as well as the difficulty of applying the exposure technique in an appropriate way; controlling important variables such as the duration of the exposure or the number of sessions. ICTs could help to reduce these limitations. Computer-assisted treatments have remarkable advantages in treating FP. Furthermore, they can be delivered through the I…

Positive mood induction and well being

The aim of this study is to test the role of consecutive positive mood induction virtual procedures on satisfaction of life of people with subclinical levels of sadness and/or anxiety. This is a work in progress and positive effects of mood induction on satisfaction and well being are expected.

An Internet-Based Self-Help Program for the Treatment of Fear of Public Speaking: A Case Study

ABSTRACT This article discusses the development of the first totally self-administered online CBT program for the treatment of a specific social phobia (fear of public speaking) called talk to me. The online program includes three parts. The assessment protocol gives the patient information about the problem, including impairment, severity, and the degree of fear and avoidance regarding the main feared situations. The structured treatment protocol ensures that the patient does not skip any steps in the treatment. The treatment protocol is a CBT program that provides exposure to the feared situation using videos of real audiences. Finally, the control protocol assesses treatment efficacy, no…

The acceptability of an internet-based exposure treatment for flying phobia with and without therapist guidance: Patients’ expectations, satisfaction, treatment preferences, and usability

Daniel Campos,1 Adriana Mira,1,2 Juana Bretón-López,1,3 Diana Castilla,1,3 Cristina Botella,1,3 Rosa Maria Baños,3,4 Soledad Quero1,3 1Department of Basic Psychology, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain; 2Department of Psychology and Sociology, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas, Universidad de Zaragoza, Campus Universitario de Teruel, Teruel, Spain; 3CIBER de Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), Barcelona, Spain; 4Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain Purpose: Internet-based treatments have been tested for several psychol…

Zwischenergebnisse zum Online-Programm „Healthy Teens @ School“ zur Prävention von Essstörungen und Adipositas im Schulsetting

Visual Data Mining With Self-organizing Maps for “Self-monitoring” Data Analysis

Data collected in psychological studies are mainly characterized by containing a large number of variables (multidimensional data sets). Analyzing multidimensional data can be a difficult task, especially if only classical approaches are used (hypothesis tests, analyses of variance, linear models, etc.). Regarding multidimensional models, visual techniques play an important role because they can show the relationships among variables in a data set. Parallel coordinates and Chernoff faces are good examples of this. This article presents self-organizing maps (SOM), a multivariate visual data mining technique used to provide global visualizations of all the data. This technique is presented as…

Virtual reality exposure-based therapy for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder: a review of its efficacy, the adequacy of the treatment protocol, and its acceptability

Introduction The essential feature of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the development of characteristic symptoms following exposure to one or more traumatic events. According to evidence-based intervention guidelines and empirical evidence, one of the most extensively researched and validated treatments for PTSD is prolonged exposure to traumatic events; however, exposure therapy can present some limitations. Virtual reality (VR) can help to improve prolonged exposure because it creates fictitious, safe, and controllable situations that can enhance emotional engagement and acceptance. Objective In addition to carrying out a review to evaluate the efficacy of VR exposure-based thera…

Psychometric properties of the Situational Inventory of Body-Image Dysphoria-Short form in a Spanish sample

The primary objective of this study was to translate and validate Situational Inventory of Body-Image Dysphoria-Short form (SIBID-S) in a Spanish population. The scale consists of 20 items to assess the frequency of dysphoric body-image emotions in certain situational contexts, using a five-point rating scale. The questionnaire was administered to 214 women between the ages of 14 and 29 years, from primary and secondary schools and a university. Principal components analysis indicated a one-factor structure for the entire sample and both younger (18) and older (or=18) participants. Internal consistency was high (0.94), and the test-retest reliability over 1 month ranged between 0.89 and 0.9…

Direct Experience While Eating in a Sample With Eating Disorders and Obesity

Background: Individuals with eating disorders might be characterized by lower levels of direct engagement with the eating experience. This study aims to explore similarities and differences in direct experience while eating in four different weight conditions and healthy controls (HCs): anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS), and obesity (OB). Methods: A total sample of 143 women were recruited. Participants were asked to eat an orange slice and write down 10 things about the experience of eating, classifying the focus of these thoughts as either experiential (“direct experience”) or analytical (“thinking about”). A direct experience in…

Dropping out of a transdiagnostic online intervention: A qualitative analysis of client's experiences

Introduction An important concern in Internet-based treatments (IBTs) for emotional disorders is the high dropout rate from these protocols. Although dropout rates are usually reported in research studies, very few studies qualitatively explore the experiences of patients who drop out of IBTs. Examining the experiences of these clients may help to find ways to tackle this problem. Method A Consensual Qualitative Research study was applied in 10 intentionally-selected patients who dropped out of a transdiagnostic IBT. Results 22 categories were identified within 6 domains. Among the clients an undeniable pattern arose regarding the insufficient support due to the absence of a therapist and t…

Virtual Reality and Psychopathology

Progress in the development of Virtual Reality (VR) is faster than has been forecast, which makes deep reflection on its potential uses and abuses absolutely necessary. The current article focuses on the analysis of some of the applications and implications of VR on psychopathology. It is obvious that they could be many, but we are only focusing on: (a) VR as a model to answer some central questions that traditionally have intrigued psychopathologists; and (b) VR and possible psychopathological experiences. We believe that VR has the potential of becoming a tool that will allow psychopathology to challenge and modify theoretical positions already established, and to pose new ones. This new …

Emotional eating and food intake after sadness and joy

Do people with a high score on a scale for eating in response to negative emotions also show high food intake in response to positive emotions?. We studied these effects in 60 female students that were preselected on the basis of extreme high or low scores on an emotional eating questionnaire. Using a between subject design we experimentally tested the difference in food intake following a mood induction designed to induce joy or sadness (the joy vs. sad mood condition). The high and low emotional eaters did not differ in their food intake, but emotional eating significantly moderated the relationship between mood condition and food intake. Whereas low emotional eaters ate similar amounts a…

Efficacy and cost-effectiveness of guided and unguided internet- and mobile-based indicated transdiagnostic prevention of depression and anxiety (ICare Prevent):A three-armed randomized controlled trial in four European countries

Background Depression and anxiety are highly prevalent and often co-occur. Several studies indicate the potential of disorder-specific psychological interventions for the prevention of each of these disorders. To treat comorbidity, transdiagnostic treatment concepts seem to be a promising approach, however, evidence for transdiagnostic concepts of prevention remains inconclusive. Internet- and mobile-based interventions (IMIs) may be an effective means to deliver psychological interventions on a large scale for the prevention of common mental disorders (CMDs) such as depression and anxiety. IMIs have been shown to be effective in treating CMDs, e.g. in reducing symptoms of depression and an…

Virtual reality treatment of claustrophobia: a case report.

The efficacy of a treatment for claustrophobia using only Virtual Reality (VR) exposure was examined. The subject was a 43-year-old female who suffered from clinically significant distress and impairment and sought psychological therapy. Eight individual VR graded exposure sessions were conducted. All self-report measures were reduced following VR exposure and were maintained at one month follow-up. The necessity of a theoretical framework for this new medium for exposure therapy is discussed.

Efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a blended cognitive behavioral therapy for depression in Spanish primary health care:Study protocol for a randomised non-inferiority trial

Background: Data from primary health care in Spain show a high prevalence of the major depressive disorder. Blended treatment (combination of face-to-face and online components) seems to be a very promising tool for the optimization and dissemination of psychological treatments in a cost-effective form. Although there is growing data that confirm the advantages of blended therapies, few studies have analyzed their application in regular clinical practice. The objective of the present paper is to describe the protocol for a clinical study aimed at exploring the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a blended cognitive behavioral therapy (b-CBT) for depression, compared to treatment as usual (TA…

The Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory: Psychometric Properties in a Spanish Sample

This study is a validation of the Spanish version of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory using a nonclinical sample (198 participants) and a clinical sample (72 participants with social phobia). The factor structure and concurrent validity with Fear of Negative Evaluation and Social Avoidance and Distress scales were analyzed. The Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory demonstrated good concurrent validity, showing statistically significant relationships with Fear of Negative Evaluation and Social Avoidance and Distress. Results confirmed the rationale for the division of the SPAI into two subscales. Results also demonstrated the utility of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for diff…

Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and In Vivo Exposure Therapy: A Preliminary Comparison of Treatment Efficacy in Small Animal Phobia

This study aggregated data from three randomized control trials to explore the differential efficacy of three forms of exposure therapy, namely, in vivo (iVET), virtual reality (VRET), and augmented reality (ARET), in the treatment of small animal phobia. Additionally, baseline patient characteristics were used to detect subgroups of patients who showed a differential response to certain treatment modalities. Primary measures were distance covered, anxiety during the behavioral avoidance test (BAT), and overall fear of small animals. A repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to explore the overall treatment effect across the exposure modalities. A cluster analysis and an analysis of…

Decision Making Impairment: A Shared Vulnerability in Obesity, Gambling Disorder and Substance Use Disorders?

Introduction Addictions are associated with decision making impairments. The present study explores decision making in Substance use disorder (SUD), Gambling disorder (GD) and Obesity (OB) when assessed by Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and compares them with healthy con- trols (HC). Methods For the aims of this study, 591 participants (194 HC, 178 GD, 113 OB, 106 SUD) were assessed according to DSM criteria, completed a sociodemographi c interview and con- ducted the IGT. Results SUD, GD and OB present impaired decision making when compared to the HC in the over- all task and task learning, however no differences are found for the overall performanc e inthe IGT among the clinical groups. Results…

An Internet-Based Intervention for Depression in Primary Care in Spain: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Depression is the most prevalent cause of illness-induced disability worldwide. Face-to-face psychotherapeutic interventions for depression can be challenging, so there is a need for other alternatives that allow these interventions to be offered. One feasible alternative is Internet-based psychological interventions. This is the first randomized controlled trial (RCT) on the effectiveness of an Internet-based intervention on depression in primary health care in Spain. Objective: Our aim was to compare the effectiveness of a low-intensity therapist-guided (LITG) Internet-based program and a completely self-guided (CSG) Internet-based program with improved treatment as usual (iTA…

An Augmented Reality System for the Treatment of Acrophobia: The Sense of Presence Using Immersive Photography

This paper describes an augmented reality (AR) system for the treatment of acrophobia. First, the technical characteristics of the original prototype are described. Second, the capacity of the immersive photography used in the AR system to provoke sense of presence in users is tested. Forty-one participants without fear of heights walked around a staircase in both a real environment and an immersive photography environment. Immediately after their experience, participants were given the SUS questionnaire to assess their subjective sense of presence. The users' scores in the immersive photography were very high. Results indicate that the acrophobic context can be useful for the treatment of…

Eating-related Environmental Factors in Underweight Eating Disorders and Obesity: Are There Common Vulnerabilities During Childhood and Early Adolescence?

Objective This study aimed to examine whether there is an association between individual, social and family influences and dysfunctional eating patterns early in life and the likelihood of developing a subsequent underweight eating disorder (ED) or obesity. Method The total sample comprised 152 individuals (underweight ED, n = 45; obese patients, n = 65; healthy controls; n = 42) from Barcelona, Spain. The Cross-Cultural Questionnaire (CCQ) was used to assess early eating influences as well as individual and family eating patterns and attitudes towards food. Results Even though a few shared eating influences emerged for both groups, unique factors were also observed. Whereas relationship wi…

Orexin and sleep quality in anorexia nervosa: Clinical relevance and influence on treatment outcome

Background and aims Orexins/hypocretins are orexigenic peptides implicated in the regulation of feeding behavior and the sleep/wake cycle. Little is known about the functioning of these peptides in anorexia nervosa (AN). The aims of the current study were to evaluate the extent to which orexin-A might be linked to sleep and treatment outcome in AN. Method Fasting plasma orexin-A concentrations were measured in 48 females with AN at the start of a day hospital treatment and in 98 normal-eater/healthy-weight controls. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was administered at the beginning of the treatment as a measure of sleep quality. Other psychopathological variables were evaluated with the S…

Retos de la investigación psicológica en salud mental

La magnitud y el impacto que suponen los trastornos mentales no se corresponden con los recursos que se dedican a su investigación y atención. Aunque hemos avanzado notablemente en su comprensión y en la eficacia de los tratamientos psicológicos que intentan paliarlos, estamos aún lejos de la situación óptima. Este trabajo se centra en uno de los retos y una de las necesidades que consideramos fundamentales, el incremento de la investigación focalizada en psicopatología, especialmente sobre los mecanismos y procesos que explican y mantienen estos problemas, como eje básico para el desarrollo de nuevas intervenciones psicológicas, tanto para la prevención como para el tratamiento y promoción…

Design considerations of a randomized clinical trial on a cognitive behavioural intervention using communication and information technologies for managing chronic low back pain

Background Psychological treatments have been successful in treating chronic low back pain (CLBP). However, the effect sizes are still modest and there is room for improvement. A way to progress is by enhancing treatment adherence and self-management using information and communication technologies (ICTs). Therefore, the objective of this study was to design a trial investigating the short- and long-term efficacy of cognitive behavioural treatment (CBT) for CLBP using or not ICTs. A secondary objective of this trial will be to evaluate the influence of relevant variables on treatment response. Possible barriers in the implementation of CBT with and without ICT will also be investigated. Met…

Transforming Experience: The Potential of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality for Enhancing Personal and Clinical Change

During life, many personal changes occur. These include changing house, school, work, and even friends and partners. However, the daily experience shows clearly that, in some situations, subjects are unable to change even if they want to. The recent advances in psychology and neuroscience are now providing a better view of personal change, the change affecting our assumptive world: (a) the focus of personal change is reducing the distance between self and reality (conflict); (b) this reduction is achieved through (1) an intense focus on the particular experience creating the conflict or (2) an internal or external reorganization of this experience; (c) personal change requires a progression…

Impact of a Web-based exercise and nutritional education intervention in patients who are obese with hypertension : randomized wait-list controlled trial

Background Internet-based interventions are a promising strategy for promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors. These have a tremendous potential for delivering electronic health interventions in scalable and cost-effective ways. There is strong evidence that the use of these programs can lead to weight loss and can lower patients’ average blood pressure (BP) levels. So far, few studies have investigated the effects of internet-based programs on patients who are obese with hypertension (HTN). Objective The aim of this study is to investigate the short- and long-term efficacy, in terms of body composition and BP parameters, of a self-administered internet-based intervention involving different …

Somatosensory amplification in hypochondriasis and panic disorder

The aim of this study is to explore the differences and similarities of Somatic Amplification (SA) in both panic and hypochondriasis disorders. An additional objective is to validate the Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSAS) for use in our cultural context. For these purposes, 34 patients (17 with hypochondriasis and 17 with panic disorder; DSM-III-R criteria) completed the following questionnaires: SSAS, State–Trait Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, MMPI Hypochondriasis Scale, Illness Attitude Scales and Illness Behaviour Questionnaire. The SSAS showed a satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach's α=0·83), and revealed two components: ‘Internal Stimulus Amplification’ and …

Low intensity vs. self-guided Internet-delivered psychotherapy for major depression: A multicenter, controlled, randomized study

Abstract Background Major depression will become the second most important cause of disability in 2020. Computerized cognitive-behaviour therapy could be an efficacious and cost-effective option for its treatment. No studies on cost-effectiveness of low intensity vs self-guided psychotherapy has been carried out. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of low intensity vs self-guided psychotherapy for major depression in the Spanish health system. Methods The study is made up of 3 phases: 1.- Development of a computerized cognitive-behaviour therapy for depression tailored to Spanish health system. 2.- Multicenter controlled, randomized study: A sample (N=450 patients) with mild/mod…

An Internet-based treatment for Flying Phobia using 360° images: Study protocol for a feasibility pilot study

Background Flying Phobia (FP) is a prevalent disorder that can cause serious interference in a person's life. ICBT interventions have already shown their efficacy in several studies, but studies in the field of specific phobias are still scarce. Moreover, few studies have investigated the feasibility of using different types of images in exposure scenarios in ICBTs and no studies have been carried out on the role of sense of presence and reality judgement. The aim of the present study is to explore the feasibility of an ICBT for FP (NO-FEAR Airlines) using two types of images with different levels of immersion (still and navigable images). A secondary aim is to explore the potential effecti…

An E-Health System for Treatment of Childhood Obesity

Obesity is one of the greatest public health challenges of the 21st century and the most prevalent health problem among children in Europe. Treatment is complex due to the multiple causes of obesity that include many dimensions of children’s lives, such as nutritional habits, physical activity, and lifestyle. E-health technologies can be useful in this area; they may improve health care delivery and acceptability, facilitate the provision of interventions to wider populations, and improve treatment efficacy by taking advantage of new technologies such as the Internet and mobile technologies. The objective of this chapter is to describe an e-health platform called ETIOBE. It comprises three …

An Internet-based program for depression using activity and physiological sensors: efficacy, expectations, satisfaction, and ease of use

Cristina Botella,1,2 Adriana Mira,1 Inés Moragrega,2,3 Azucena García-Palacios,1,2 Juana Bretón-López,1,2 Diana Castilla,1,2 Antonio Riera López del Amo,1 Carla Soler,1 Guadalupe Molinari,1 Soledad Quero,1,2 Verónica Guillén-Botella,2,3 Ignacio Miralles,1,2 Sara Nebot,1 Berenice Serrano,1,2 Dennis Majoe,4 Mariano Alcañiz,2,5 Rosa María Baños2,31Department of Basic, Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Universitat Jaume, Castellón, Spain; 2CIBER Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition, CIBERobn, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; 3Department o…

Virtual reality versus computer-aided exposure treatments for fear of flying

Evidence is growing that two modalities of computer-based exposure therapies—virtual reality and computer-aided psychotherapy—are effective in treating anxiety disorders, including fear of flying. However, they have not yet been directly compared. The aim of this study was to analyze the efficacy of three computer-based exposure treatments for fear of flying: virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET), computer-aided exposure with a therapist’s (CAE-T) assistance throughout exposure sessions, and self-administered computer-aided exposure (CAE-SA). A total of 60 participants with flying phobia were randomly assigned to VRET, CAE-T, or CAE-SA. Results indicate that the three interventions were …

Positive Psychological Interventions and Information and Communication Technologies

Since the advent of Positive Psychology there has been a connection between positive psychological interventions (PPIs) and the digital world. The development of PPIs, especially those delivered online, is becoming widespread within and outside the scientific field. Therefore, there is currently a need for accurate information that provides a critical view of all the interventions currently available. This chapter presents an updated review of the relationship between these two fields (PPIs and technologies), and discusses relevant considerations that should be taken into account when technologies are used to deliver PPIs, as well as the elements that can moderate their effectiveness. The f…

Exploring the Incorporation of a Positive Psychology Component in a Cognitive Behavioral Internet-Based Program for Depressive Symptoms. Results Throughout the Intervention Process

Traditionally, evidence-based treatments for depression have focused on negative symptoms. Different authors describe the need to include positive affect as a major target of treatment. Positive psychology aims to fill this gap. Reaching everyone in need is also important, and Internet-based interventions can help in this task. The present study is a secondary analysis derived from a randomized controlled trial aimed to test the efficacy of an Internet-based intervention for patients with depressive symptoms. This intervention consisted of an 8-module Internet-based program that combined four modules based on cognitive-behavioral therapy strategies and four modules based on positive psychol…

Economic evaluation of a guided and unguided internet-based CBT intervention for major depression: Results from a multicenter, three-armed randomized controlled trial conducted in primary care

Depression is one of the most common mental disorders and will become one of the leading causes of disability in the world. Internet-based CBT programs for depression have been classified as well established following the American Psychological Association criteria for empirically supported treatments. The aim of this study is to analyze the cost effectiveness at 12-month follow-up of the Internet-based CBT program Smiling is fun with (LITG) and without psychotherapist support (TSG) compared to usual care. The perspective used in our analysis is societal. A sample of 296 depressed patients (mean age of 43.04 years; 76% female; BDI-II mean score = 22.37) from primary care services in four Sp…

Serious Games to Teach Nutrition Education to Children Between 9 to 12 Years Old. Pickit! and Cookit!

The current trend of increase in children obesity is worrying governments around the world and urgent actions are requested. The promotion of Nutrition Education in early stages has shown to be a factor to prevent the gain of weight in children. A tool that is gaining popularity in teaching contents to children are the Serious Games. The objective of this paper is to describe two Serious Games, Pickit! and Cookit! that has as objective to teach Nutrition Education to children between 9 to 12 years old. These games form part of the Modifying Eating and Attitudes through Learning platform, a pedagogical tool created for nutritionists and primary school teachers to transfer nutritional knowled…

Capturing the Severity and Impairment Associated With Depression: The Overall Depression Severity and Impairment Scale (ODSIS) Validation in a Spanish Clinical Sample

Background: The Overall Depression Severity and Impairment Scale (ODSIS) is a self-report scale designed to evaluate the severity and functional impairment associated with depression. Objective: This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the online version of the ODSIS in Spanish outpatients with depression and anxiety disorders. Method: Patients with a main diagnosis of a depressive (n = 283) or anxiety disorder (n = 191) and a mean age of 38.15 (SD = 12.06) were evaluated with a clinical diagnostic interview and measures assessing depression, anxiety, positive and negative affect, and quality of life. Factorial structure, internal consistency, convergent, and discriminant validit…

An internet-based self-administered intervention for promoting healthy habits and weight loss in hypertensive people who are overweight or obese: a randomized controlled trial

Background The prevalence of overweight and obesity is on the rise worldwide with severe physical and psychosocial consequences. One of the most dangerous is hypertension. Lifestyle changes related to eating behaviour and physical activity are the critical components in the prevention and treatment of hypertension and obesity. Data indicates that the usual procedures to promote these healthy habits in health services are either insufficient or not efficient enough. Internet has been shown to be an effective tool for the implementation of lifestyle interventions based on this type of problem. This study aims to assess the efficacy of a totally self-administered online intervention programme …

An fMRI Study to Analyze Neural Correlates of Presence during Virtual Reality Experiences

[EN] In the field of virtual reality (VR), many efforts have been made to analyze presence, the sense of being in the virtual world. However, it is only recently that functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been used to study presence during an automatic navigation through a virtual environment. In the present work, our aim was to use fMRI to study the sense of presence during a VR-free navigation task, in comparison with visualization of photographs and videos (automatic navigations through the same environment). The main goal was to analyze the usefulness of fMRI for this purpose, evaluating whether, in this context, the interaction between the subject and the environment is perf…

Designing ICTs for Users with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Usability Study

Background: Research has supported the cost-effectiveness of cognitive training tools enhanced by information and communication technologies (ICT) in several populations, including individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and age-related cognitive decline. The implementation of ICTs in this population, however, is sometimes challenging to their cognitive and age characteristics. Ultimately, this might compromise the effectiveness of ICT-enhanced therapies in this population. The aim of this study is to test the usability and acceptability of a European project prototype for elderly care, in an attempt to explore the ICT design needs of users with MCI. Methods: Participants were 28 i…

The Intelligent e-Therapy system: a new paradigm for telepsychology and cybertherapy

ABSTRACT One of the main drawbacks of computer-assisted psychology tools developed up to now is related to the real time customisation and adaptation of the content to each patient depending on his/her activity. In this paper we propose a new approach for mental e-health treatments named Intelligent e-Therapy (eIT) with capabilities for ambient intelligence and ubiquitous computing. From a technical point of view, an eIT system is based on four fundamental axes: ambient intelligence for capturing physiological, psychological and contextual information of the patient; persuasive computing for changing/reinforcing behaviours; ubiquitous computing for using the system at any place, and at any …

Integrating Virtual Realities and Psychotherapy: SWOT Analysis on VR and MR Based Treatments of Anxiety and Stress-related Disorders

© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.The use of virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) technology in clinical psychology is growing. Efficacious VR-based treatments for a variety of disorders have been developed. However, the field of technology-assisted psychotherapy is constantly changing with the advancement in technology. Factors such as interdisciplinary collaboration, consumer familiarity and adoption of VR products, and progress in clinical science all need to be taken into consideration when integrating virtual technologies into psychotherapies. We aim to present an overview of current expert opinions on the use of virtual…

Upregulating Positive Affectivity in the Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders: A Randomized Pilot Study

Transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral therapy for emotional disorders (ED) has proven to be effective. However, current transdiagnostic treatment protocols address only the regulation of negative affectivity, and they do not include treatment components to more directly target the regulation of positive affectivity. In this study, we propose to evaluate the preliminary efficacy and acceptability of a transdiagnostic treatment protocol for ED that includes, as an innovative feature, a specific treatment component to directly upregulate positive affectivity based on positive psychology interventions. A total of 24 participants were randomized to either a transdiagnostic treatment protocol ( n…

Treating Cockroach Phobia With Augmented Reality

In vivo exposure is the recommended treatment of choice for specific phobias; however, it demonstrates a high attrition rate and is not effective in all instances. The use of virtual reality (VR) has improved the acceptance of exposure treatments to some individuals. Augmented reality (AR) is a variation of VR wherein the user sees the real world augmented by virtual elements. The present study tests an AR system in the short (posttreatment) and long term (3, 6, and 12 months) for the treatment of cockroach phobia using a multiple baseline design across individuals (with 6 participants). The AR exposure therapy was applied using the "one-session treatment" guidelines developed by Öst, Salko…

Virtual reality exposure-based therapy for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder: a review of its efficacy, the adequacy of the treatment protocol, and its acceptability

Cristina Botella,1 Berenice Serrano,1 Rosa M Baños,2 Azucena Garcia-Palacios1 1Universitat Jaume I, Castellón de la Plana, Spain; 2Universitat de Valencia, Valencia, Spain Introduction: The essential feature of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the development of characteristic symptoms following exposure to one or more traumatic events. According to evidence-based intervention guidelines and empirical evidence, one of the most extensively researched and validated treatments for PTSD is prolonged exposure to traumatic events; however, exposure therapy can present some limitations. Virtual reality (VR) can help to improve prolonged exposure because it creates fic…

Circulating Betatrophin Levels Are Increased in Anorexia and Decreased in Morbidly Obese Women.

Betatrophin is produced primarily by liver and adipose tissue and has been recently reported as a novel hormone promoting β-cell proliferation and β-cell mass and improving glucose tolerance.Because it is markedly regulated by nutritional status, we hypothesized that circulating betatrophin levels might be affected by pathophysiological conditions altering body weight.We analyzed circulating betatrophin levels in 149 female patients, including 99 with extreme body mass index (30 anorexia nervosa, 24 obese, 45 morbid obese, and 50 healthy eating/weight controls).Serum betatrophin levels and its correlations with different anthropometric and biochemical parameters were measured.Plasma betatro…

Exploring the assessment of Adjustment Disorders: Differences between a general and a clinical sample

Adjustment Disorders (AjD) are one of the most prevalent psychological problems in primary and hospital care. It is necessary to have evidence-based instruments to help professionals diagnose and better understand this problem, which has been little studied. This study presents an adaptation of the Inventory of Complicated Grief for the assessment of AjD symptoms, referred to as the Inventory of Stress and Loss (ISL), and explores the differences in the response to stressful situations between general and clinical Spanish populations. Methods: The general sample included 208 participants, and the clinical sample 91 patients with AjD. Results: Results showed that the ISL has high internal co…

Using Augmented Reality to Treat Phobias

Virtual reality (VR) is useful for treating several psychological problems, including phobias such as fear of flying, agoraphobia, claustrophobia, and phobia to insects and small animals. We believe that augmented reality (AR) could also be used to treat some psychological disorders. AR and VR share some advantages over traditional treatments. However, AR gives a greater feeling of presence (the sensation of being there) and reality judgment (judging an experience as real) than VR because the environment and the elements the patient uses to interact with the application are real. Moreover, in AR users see their own hands, feet, and so on, whereas VR only simulates this experience. With thes…

Psychological Variables and Reality Judgment in Virtual Environments: The Roles of Absorption and Dissociation

Literature on virtual reality (VR) and psychology has focused on the influence that some basic psychological processes have on VR. Although psychological processes may be defined as common to all humans, there are individual differences that might make it difficult to provide the same VR experience for everyone. Of the several personality and psychological variables that might be relevant to the VR field, this study focuses on two: absorption and dissociation. Both psychological dimensions are deeply interrelated and might play an important role in the immersion of subjects in virtual environments and in the reality attributions they make. Thus, the purpose of this study was to ascertain pe…

A User-Friendly Tool for Detecting the Stress Level in a Person s Daily Life

[EN] Mental health care represents over a third of the cost of health care to all EU nations and, in USA, it is estimated to be around the 2.5% of the gross national product. Depression and Stress related disorders are the most common mental illnesses. The European project OPTIMI will develop tools to make predictions through the early identification on the onset of the disease. In this paper, we present a user-friendly application developed in the OPTIMI project to detect the stress level in a person's daily life. The results of a first usability study of this application are also presented.

Virtual Reality and Other Realities

Abstract In this chapter, we describe virtual reality and other mixed reality technological tools, highlighting the role they can play in the Clinical and Health Psychology fields: as stimulating, safe and controlled therapeutic contexts for applying psychological treatments; as ecological settings for conducting psychological assessment; and as a realistic laboratory for psychopathology to test research questions that would be very difficult or impossible to address in a traditional laboratory setting. The existing meta-analyses and systematic reviews of their efficacy are presented. The majority of studies have used virtual realities (VRs) as exposure techniques. This is not surprising, c…

Usability and acceptability assessment of an empathic virtual agent to prevent major depression

In Human-Computer Interaction, the adaptation of the content and the way of how this content is communicated to the users in interactive sessions is a critical issue to promote the acceptability and usability of any computational system. We present a user-adapted interactive platform to identify and provide an early intervention for symptoms of depression and suicide. In particular, we describe the work performed to assess users' system acceptability and usability. An empathic Virtual Agent is the main interface with the user, and it has been designed to generate the appropriate dialogues and emotions during the interactions according to the detected user's specific needs. This personalizat…

An adaptive virtual reality system for the treatment of adjustment disorder and complicated grief: 1-year follow-up efficacy data.

This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: An adaptive virtual reality system for the treatment of adjustment disorder and complicated grief: 1‐year follow‐up efficacy data, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2342. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. Adjustment disorder (AD) and complicated grief (CG) are serious mental conditions that have a high prevalence and are associated with significant impairments in social and work functioning. Recently, these categories have been better specified in the new ICD‐11 proposal. Empirical research on …

Assessing the costs and cost-effectiveness of ICare internet-based interventions (protocol)

Background: Mental health problems are common and place a burden on the individual as well as on societal resources. Despite the existence of evidence-based treatments, access to treatment is often prevented or delayed due to insufficient health care resources. Effective internet-based self-help interventions have the potential to reduce the risk for mental health problems, to successfully bridge waiting time for face-to-face treatment and to address inequities in access. However, little is known about the cost-effectiveness of such interventions. This paper describes the study protocol for the economic evaluation of the studies that form the ICare programme of internet-based interventions …

Immersion and emotion: their impact on the sense of presence.

The present study is designed to test the role of immersion and media content in the sense of presence. Specifically, we are interested in the affective valence of the virtual environments. This paper describes an experiment that compares three immersive systems (a PC monitor, a rear projected video wall, and a head-mounted display) and two virtual environments, one involving emotional content and the other not. The purpose of the experiment was to test the interactive role of these two media characteristics (form and content). Scores on two self-report presence measurements were compared among six groups of 10 people each. The results suggest that both immersion and affective content have …

Users’ Opinion About a Virtual Reality System as an Adjunct to Psychological Treatment for Stress-Related Disorders: A Quantitative and Qualitative Mixed-Methods Study

This study aims to explore patients’ and therapists’ attitudes about the psychological treatment they received (patients) or applied (therapists). The treatments were standard CBT protocols for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), complicated grief (CG), or adjustment disorders (ADs), depending on each patient diagnosis. The treatments were delivered following a traditional format or supported by a virtual reality (VR) system “EMMA’s WORLD” designed for the treatment of stress-related disorders. “EMMA’s WORLD” is a VR application in which patients can explore negative experiences using different virtual elements that can be customized to make them more meaningful to the user. The sample w…

Positive mood induction procedures for virtual environments designed for elderly people

Positive emotions have a significant influence on mental and physical health. Their role in the elderly’s wellbeing has been established in numerous studies. It is therefore worthwhile to explore ways in which elderly people can increase the number of positive experiences in their daily lives. This paper describes two Virtual Environments (VEs) that were used as mood induction procedures (MIPs) for this population. In addition, the VEs’ efficacy at increasing joy and relaxation in elderly users is analyzed. The VEs contain exercises for generating positive-autobiographic memories, mindfulness and slow breathing rhythms. The total sample comprised 18 participants over 55 years old who used t…

An Internet-based program for depressive symptoms using human and automated support: a randomized controlled trial

Adriana Mira,1 Juana Bretón-López,1,2 Azucena García-Palacios,1,2 Soledad Quero,1,2 Rosa María Baños,2,3 Cristina Botella1,2 1Department of Basic, Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Labpsitec, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón de la Plana, Spain; 2CIBER of Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition CIBERobn, CB06/03 Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; 3Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment, Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the efficacy of an Internet-based program for depressive symptoms using automated supp…

Improving childhood obesity treatment using new technologies: the ETIOBE System

Childhood obesity is an increasing public health problem in western culture. Sedentary lifestyles and an “obesogenic environment” are the main influences on children leading to an increase in obesity. The objective of this paper is to describe an e-health platform for the treatment and prevention of childhood obesity called ETIOBE. This e-health platform is an e-therapy system for the treatment of obesity, aimed at improving treatment adherence and promoting the mechanisms of self-control in patients, to obtain weight loss maintenance and to prevent relapse by establishing healthy lifestyle habits. ETIOBE is composed of three different applications, the Clinician Support System (CSS), the H…

Changes in Body Composition in Anorexia Nervosa : Predictors of Recovery and Treatment Outcome

The restoration of body composition (BC) parameters is considered to be one of the most important goals in the treatment of patients with anorexia nervosa (AN). However, little is known about differences between AN diagnostic subtypes [restricting (AN-R) and binge/purging (AN-BP)] and weekly changes in BC during refeeding treatment. Therefore, the main objectives of our study were twofold: 1) to assess the changes in BC throughout nutritional treatment in an AN sample and 2) to analyze predictors of BC changes during treatment, as well as predictors of treatment outcome. The whole sample comprised 261 participants [118 adult females with AN (70 AN-R vs. 48 AN-BP), and 143 healthy controls].…

Genetic variations of the bitter taste receptor TAS2R38 are associated with obesity and impact on single immune traits

Scope: Changes in genetic variations affecting the taste receptor, type 2, member 38 (TAS2R38) may identify the interacting mechanism leading to obesity and potential associations with proteins partaking in innate immunity, such as surfactant protein D (SPD) and mannan-binding lectin (MBL). Methods and results: We evaluated haplotypes of the bitter-taste receptor TAS2R38 in an identification sample of 210 women in different weight conditions, including anorexia nervosa and obesity. The association with SPD and MBL was tested in an independent sample picturing general population (n = 534). The relationship with obesity was validated in an extended final sample of 1319 participants. In the sa…

Interventions for Family Members and Carers of Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder: A Systematic Review.

Carers of patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) experience high levels of distress. Several studies have been carried out on interventions designed to decrease their burden. However, the evidence from these studies has not been summarized. The objective of this work is to explore the clinical utility of interventions developed for family members of patients with BPD. A systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines (registration number CRD42018107318), including psychological interventions focused on relatives of patients with BPD. The following databases were used: PsycINFO, PubMed, EBSCOhost, and Web of Science. Two independent researchers reviewed the studi…

The treatment of the body image disturbances in eating disorders and clinically significant change

Body image disturbance is a significant maintenance and prog-nosis factor in eating disorders. Hence, existing eating disorder treatments can benefit from direct intervention in patients’ body image. This paper in-cludes a controlled study comparing cognitive behavioural treatment for eating disorders with and without a component for body image treatment using virtual reality techniques. The objective of this work was to check if both types of treatment produced a change clinically significant at the end of the treatment and the follow-up to the year, in body image, eating disor-ders and general psychopathology. Thirty-four participants diagnosed with eating disorders were treated and compa…

Modulation of higher-order olfaction components on executive functions in humans

The prefrontal (PFC) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) appear to be associated with both executive functions and olfaction. However, there is little data relating olfactory processing and executive functions in humans. The present study aimed at exploring the role of olfaction on executive functioning, making a distinction between primary and more cognitive aspects of olfaction. Three executive tasks of similar difficulty were used. One was used to assess hot executive functions (Iowa Gambling Task-IGT), and two as a measure of cold executive functioning (Stroop Colour and Word Test-SCWT and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test-WCST). Sixty two healthy participants were included: 31 with normosmia and …

Associations between neuropsychological performance and appetite-regulating hormones in anorexia nervosa and healthy controls: Ghrelin's putative role as a mediator of decision-making.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe eating disorder accompanied by alterations in endocrinological circuits and deficits in neuropsychological performance. In this study, a series of appetite-regulating hormones (ghrelin, leptin, cholecystokinin, PYY, adiponectin, and visfatin) were measured under fasting conditions in female patients with AN and female healthy controls. All of the participants also underwent a battery of neuropsychological assessment [namely the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), and the Stroop Color and Word Test (SCWT)]. As the main finding, we found that higher ghrelin levels predict better performance in the IGT. Ghrelin may be a putative m…

A virtual reality system for the treatment of stress-related disorders: A preliminary analysis of efficacy compared to a standard cognitive behavioral program

This paper presents preliminary efficacy data in a controlled study of the use of a virtual reality (VR) system for treating stress-related disorders (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD; Pathological Grief, or PG; and Adjustment Disorders, or AD). ''EMMA's World'' is a VR application in which patients can explore negative experiences to the degree required for their specific therapeutic needs. To accomplish therapeutic goals, a series of virtual elements is customized to be meaningful to the user; the elements contain the fundamental emotional components that the person must confront. Thirty-nine participants diagnosed with PTSD (N=10), PG (N=16), and AD (N=13) were randomly assigned t…

Cultural adaptation of the Smiling is Fun program for the treatment of depression in the Ecuadorian public health care system: A study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background Depression is one of the world's major health problems. Due to its high prevalence, it constitutes the first cause of disability among the Americas, where only a very low percentage of the population receives the adequate evidence-based psychological treatment. Internet-Based Interventions (IBIs) are a great alternative to reduce the treatment gap for mental disorders. Although there are several studies in low-and middle-income countries proving IBIs' feasibility and acceptability, there is still little evidence of the effectiveness in diverse social and cultural contexts such as Latin America. Methods Two studies will be described: Study 1 is focused on the cultural adaptation o…

A low-intensity internet-based intervention focused on the promotion of positive affect for the treatment of depression in Spanish primary care: Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial

Background: A large number of low-intensity Internet-based interventions (IBIs) for the treatment of depression have emerged in Primary Care

An adaptive display for the treatment of diverse trauma PTSD victims.

El trastorno de estrés postraumático (TEPT) puede desarrollarse después de la exposición a un evento aterrador. Las personas que sufren de trastorno de estrés postraumático presentan hiperactividad y evitación, y experimentan síntomas que provocan angustia y deterioro en áreas de vida significativas. Los programas de comportamiento cognitivo, incluida la terapia de exposición, son actualmente el tratamiento de elección para el TEPT. Aunque estos programas son eficaces, hay margen de mejora; La utilización de la terapia de exposición por los médicos es baja y las tasas de desgaste son altas. La aplicación de nuevas tecnologías, especialmente la realidad virtual (VR), podría ayudar a superar …

Additional file 1 of Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS): psychometric properties of the online Spanish version in a clinical sample with emotional disorders

Additional file 1. PANAS (Spanish version).

Psychometric properties of the General Self Efficacy-12 Scale in Spanish: general and clinical population samples.

The General Self Efficacy Scale (GSES-12) is a short version of the Sherer’s Self-Efficacy Scale, and evaluates a general dimension and three aspects of self-efficacy: initiative, persistence and effort. The aim of this study is to explore the factorial structure, reliability, and criterion validity of the Spanish adaptation of the GSES-12 in general and clinical populations. The sample was composed of 714 volunteers (332 from the clinical population). Results of the principal components analysis yielded a 3-factor structure that was later confirmed through Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Moreover, this study shows good internal consistency and testretest values, and differences in self-effic…

Mediterranean diet and quality of life: Baseline cross-sectional analysis of the PREDIMED-PLUS trial

We assessed if a 17-item score capturing adherence to a traditional Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) was associated with better health-related quality of life among older Spanish men and women with overweight or obesity harboring the metabolic syndrome. We analyzed baseline data from 6430 men and women (age 55-70 years) participating in the PREDIMED-Plus study. PREDIMED-Plus is a multi-centre randomized trial testing an energy-restricted MedDiet combined with promotion of physical activity and behavioral therapy for primary cardiovascular prevention compared to a MedDiet alone. Participants answered a 36-item questionnaire about health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and a 17-item questionnaire…

Changing Induced Moods Via Virtual Reality

Mood Induction Procedures (MIPs) are designed to induce emotional changes in experimental subjects in a controlled way, manipulating variables inside the laboratory. The induced mood should be an experimental analogue of the mood that would occur in a certain natural situation. Our team has developed an MIP using VR (VR-MIP) in order to induce different moods (sadness, happiness, anxiety and relaxation). The virtual environment is a park, which changes according to the mood to be induced. This work will present data about the efficacy of this procedure not only to induce a mood, but also to change after the mood is induced.

Clinical utility of cognitive-behavioural treatment for panic disorder. results obtained in different settings: a research centre and a public mental health care unit

Cognitive-Behavioural programmes have become the treatment of choice for Panic Disorder (PD). However, although its effectiveness has been widely demonstrated, there are still some limitations regarding the possibility of offering this type of treatment to all panic sufferers. Some researchers are studying ways to make these programmes more available. This study deals with the application and testing of treatment programmes for PD in sites where patients usually look for help for their psychological problems, i.e. mental health care centres. Our work follows a strategy of benchmarking, and the results obtained after applying the treatment in habitual clinical contexts are compared with the …

Online interventions to prevent mental health problems implemented in school settings: the perspectives from key stakeholders in Austria and Spain

Abstract Background Schools are key settings for delivering mental illness prevention in adolescents. Data on stakeholders’ attitudes and factors relevant for the implementation of Internet-based prevention programmes are scarce. Methods Stakeholders in the school setting from Austria and Spain were consulted. Potential facilitators (e.g. teachers and school psychologists) completed an online questionnaire (N=50), policy makers (e.g. representatives of the ministry of education and health professional associations) participated in semi-structured interviews (N=9) and pupils (N=29, 14–19 years) participated in focus groups. Thematic analysis was used to identify experiences with, attitudes a…

Expectations among patients and health professionals regarding Web-based interventions for depression in primary care: A qualitative study

Background: One-quarter of the world's population will suffer from depression symptoms at some point in their lives. Mental health services in developed countries are overburdened. Therefore, cost-effective interventions that provide mental health care solutions such as Web-based psychotherapy programs have been proposed. Objective: The intent of the study was to identify expectations regarding Web-based psychotherapy for the treatment of depression in primary care among patients and health professionals that might facilitate or hinder its effects. Methods: The expectations of untreated patients and health professionals were examined by means of interviews and focus groups. There were 43 pa…

Resilience as a predictor of Quality of Life in participants with borderline personality disorder before and after treatment.

Abstract Background Studies have suggested that psychotherapy improves the Quality of Life (QoL) of participants with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). However, there are no studies on the differential efficacy of treatments on the QoL of participants with BPD. Moreover, the relationship between QoL and resilience has rarely been studied in participants with BPD. Objectives: a) to examine whether people with BPD have worse QoL than the non-clinical population; b) to examine whether there are statistically significant differences between Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), Systems Training for Emotional Predictability and Problem Solving (STEPPS), or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy-Tre…

Moderate-Vigorous Physical Activity across Body Mass Index in Females : Moderating Effect of Endocannabinoids and Temperament

Altres ajuts: This manuscript was supported by grants from Instituto Salud Carlos III (FIS PI11/210 and CIBERobn). Sarah Sauchelli is recipient of a pre-doctoral Grant (2013-17) by IDIBELL. Jose C. Fernández-García is recipient of a 'Rio Hortega' contract from 'Instituto de Salud Carlos III', Madrid, Spain (CM12/00059). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Endocannabinoids and temperament traits have been linked to both physical activity and body mass index (BMI) however no study has explored how these factors interact in females. The aims of this cross-sectional study were to 1) examine differences…

Presence and Emotions in Virtual Environments: The Influence of Stereoscopy

ABSTRACT This study investigates how stereoscopy (the illusion of depth and 3D imaging) affects the sense of presence and the intensity of the positive mood that users feel in virtual environments (VEs). A between-group design was used, and 40 volunteers were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions (stereoscopy vs. no stereoscopy) and to one of two emotional VEs (relaxation or joy). The participants' emotions were assessed before and after the VR experience. Presence was measured with two postexperiment questionnaires (ITC-SOPI and SUS). Results show that there were no differences between stereoscopic and monoscopic presentations in VEs (neither subjective sense of presence …

Virtual reality in eating disorders

Virtual Reality (VR) is widely used as a therapeutic tool in the field of neuropsychology and also in the treatment of anxiety disorders. In contrast, VR is much less well-known in the area of the eating disorders. The objective of this paper is to draw attention to possible applications of this technology in the treatment of eating disorders and describe pilot work in the area of body image disturbance and binge eating using VR technology. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

Efficacy of an internet-based exposure treatment for flying phobia (NO-FEAR Airlines) with and without therapist guidance: a randomized controlled trial

Background Internet-based treatments appear to be a promising way to enhance the in vivo exposure approach, specifically in terms of acceptability and access to treatment. However, the literature on specific phobias is scarce, and, as far as we know, there are no studies on Flying Phobia (FP). This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of an Internet-based exposure treatment for FP (NO-FEAR Airlines) that includes exposure scenarios composed of images and sounds, versus a waiting-list control group. A secondary aim is to explore two ways of delivering NO-FEAR Airlines, with and without therapist guidance. Methods A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted in which 69 participan…

Consensus statement on the problem of terminology in psychological interventions using the internet or digital components

Since the emergence of psychological interventions delivered via the Internet they have differed in numerous ways. The wealth of formats, methods, and technological solutions has led to increased availability and cost-effectiveness of clinical care, however, it has simultaneously generated a multitude of terms. With this paper, we first aim to establish whether a terminology issue exists in the field of Internet-delivered psychological interventions. If so, we aim to determine its implications for research, education, and practice. Furthermore, we intend to discuss solutions to mitigate the problem; in particular, we propose the concept of a common glossary. We invited 23 experts in the fie…

Adherence predictors in an Internet-based Intervention program for depression

Internet-delivered psychotherapy has been demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of depression. Nevertheless, the study of the adherence in this type of the treatment reported divergent results. The main objective of this study is to analyze predictors of adherence in a primary care Internet-based intervention for depression in Spain. A multi-center, three arm, parallel, randomized controlled trial was conducted with 194 depressive patients, who were allocated in self-guided or supported-guided intervention. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were gathered using a case report form. The Mini international neuropsychiatric interview diagnoses major depression. Beck Depressio…

An Augmented Reality System for Treating Psychological Disorders: Application to Phobia to Cockroaches

Augmented reality has been used in many fields, but it has not been used to treat psychological disorders. Augmented reality presents several advantages respect to: the traditional treatment of psychological disorders and virtual reality treatments. In this paper we present the first augmented reality system for the treatment of phobia to cockroaches. Our system has been developed using ARToolkit software. It has been tested with one patient and the results have been very satisfactory. At first of the exposure session the patient was not able to approach to a real cockroach and after the exposure session using our augmented reality system, the patient was able to approach to a real cockroac…

Advancing psychotherapy and evidence-based psychological interventions

Psychological models of mental disorders guide research into psychological and environmental factors that elicit and maintain mental disorders as well as interventions to reduce them. This paper addresses four areas. (1) Psychological models of mental disorders have become increasingly transdiagnostic, focusing on core cognitive endophenotypes of psychopathology from an integrative cognitive psychology perspective rather than offering explanations for unitary mental disorders. It is argued that psychological interventions for mental disorders will increasingly target specific cognitive dysfunctions rather than symptom-based mental disorders as a result. (2) Psychotherapy research still lack…

Retos de la investigación psicológica en salud mental

The magnitude and impact of mental disorders does not correspond to the resources devoted to research and attention. Although we have made significant progress in their understanding and the efficacy of the psychological treatments, we are still far from an optimal situation. This paper focuses on one of the major issues which we consider fundamental challenges and needs in this area, the increase in research focusing on psychopathology, especially on the mechanisms and processes that explain and maintain mental disorders, as a key point for the design and development of new psychological interventions for the prevention, treatment, and promotion of mental health. The aim is to promote disc…

Behavioral Activation through Virtual Reality for Depression: A Single Case Experimental Design with Multiple Baselines

Behavioral activation (BA) is a structured psychotherapeutic approach for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD), which aims at increasing the engagement in activities that might bring enjoyment and meaning to patients’ lives. Although a growing body of evidence supports the effectiveness of BA, enhancing the motivation and activity level of depressed patients is often challenging. In the present study, we explored the effectiveness of a brief BA treatment supported by virtual reality (VR) to facilitate the visualization and anticipation of four pleasurable activities that we tried to re-introduce in the patients’ daily routine. To do so, we conducted a single-case experimental de…

Opinion of the Patients About an Internet-Based Psychological Treatment Protocol

Emotional disorders (depression and anxiety disorders) are highly prevalent. Currently, there is evidence showing the efficacy of disorder-specific cognitive-behavior therapy for emotional disorders. However, high comorbidity rates among emotional disorders have led some researchers to shift the focus to treatment strategies that might be more widely effective across these diverse conditions (transdiagnostic approach). Another important line of research in the literature is Internet-based psychotherapy. An increasing number of meta-analyses have shown the efficacy and effectiveness of Internet-based cognitive-behavior treatment protocols for emotional disorders. Nevetherless, little is know…

Good things never last: dampening positive emotions influences our optimism levels

A pesar del creciente interés en la comprensión de las estrate-gias de regulación emocional (RE) de las emociones positivas y su relación con la salud mental, la relación entre los diferentes estilos de respuesta al afecto positivo y estilos cognitivos como el optimismo aún no se ha proba-do empíricamente. El objetivo del presente estudio fue evaluar el efecto de las estrategias para regular emociones positivas (evaluadas por el cuestiona-rio Response to Positive Affect -RPA) sobre el optimismo, y la posible media-ción del afecto positivo en esta relación. 250 participantes completaron el cuestionario RPA, medidas de optimismo y afecto positivo, y realizaron un procedimiento de inducción em…

Telepsychology and Self-help: The Treatment of Fear of Public Speaking

Abstract This work presents a self-help, Internet-based telepsychology program for the treatment of public speaking fears. The system is comprised of 3 parts: The assessment protocol gives the patient information about his or her problem (i.e., amount of interference it creates in his or her life, severity, degree of fear and avoidance). The system also includes a structured treatment protocol, organized into separate blocks, reflecting the patient’s progress. This ensures that the patient does not skip any steps in the treatment (something quite common in traditional self-help manuals), which provides more control over the process. The treatment protocol is a cognitive-behavioral program t…

Emotional eating scale for children and adolescents: psychometric characteristics in a Spanish sample

The aims of this study were to validate the Emotional Eating Scale version for children (EES-C) in a Spanish population and study the differences in emotional eating among children with binge eating (BE), overeating (OE), and no episodes of disordered eating (NED). The questionnaire was completed by 199 children aged 9 to 16 years. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed five scales: eating in response to anger, anxiety, restlessness, helplessness, and depression. The EES-C showed good internal consistency and test-retest reliability, and it showed moderate relationships with measures of disordered-eating [Children's Eating Attitudes Test-26 (ChEAT-26), Questionnaire of Eating and Weight Patt…

An E-Health System for Promoting Wellbeing in the Elderly

The disproportionate increase in the world’s aged population, especially in developed countries, is one of the biggest challenges for developing health and social development policies. Developed countries are starting to include e-health applications in their health policies; these are effective programs that can reach large numbers of people at a much lower economic cost. The “Butler System” is an e-health application designed specifically for older people and the health professionals who work with this population. The Butler System is a multi-user platform with various levels of action, which includes resources that enhance elderly users’ social integration, learning, socio-emotional netw…

Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS): psychometric properties of the online Spanish version in a clinical sample with emotional disorders

Abstract Background The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) is the most widely and frequently used scale to assess positive and negative affect. The PANAS has been validated in several languages, and it has shown excellent psychometric properties in the general population and some clinical samples, such as forensic samples, substance users, and adult women with fibromyalgia. Nevertheless, the psychometric properties of the scale have not yet been examined in clinical samples with anxiety, depressive, and adjustment disorders. In addition, the proliferation of Internet-based treatments has led to the development of a wide range of assessments conducted online with digital versions …

Treatment of flying phobia using virtual reality exposure with or without cognitive restructuring: Participant's preferences

This study analyses participants’ preferences regarding two exposure treatment modali- ties for Fear of Flying (FF): virtual reality exposure treatment (VRET) by itself or VRET plus cognitive restructuring (VRET+CR). An alternating treatment conditions design was established and a non-concurrent multiple baseline design across individuals (four participants) was used. Both conditions were equally effective and after the treatment all the participants took a flight. At the end of each session the participants were asked for their opinion on the condition they received. High mean scores were obtained in both conditions; non-significant differences between the two condi- tions were found. When…

Working Alliance Inventory for Online Interventions-Short Form (WAI-TECH-SF): The Role of the Therapeutic Alliance between Patient and Online Program in Therapeutic Outcomes.

Background: Therapeutic alliance (TA) between the patient and therapist has been related to positive therapeutic outcomes. Because Internet-based interventions are increasingly being implemented, a tool is needed to measure the TA with Internet-based self-guided programs. The Working Alliance Inventory for online interventions (WAI-TECH-SF) was adapted based on the WAI Short Form (Hatcher &amp

An increase in visceral fat is associated with a decrease in the taste and olfactory capacity

Introduction Sensory factors may play an important role in the determination of appetite and food choices. Also, some adipokines may alter or predict the perception and pleasantness of specific odors. We aimed to analyze differences in smell–taste capacity between females with different weights and relate them with fat and fat-free mass, visceral fat, and several adipokines. Materials and methods 179 females with different weights (from low weight to morbid obesity) were studied. We analyzed the relation between fat, fat-free mass, visceral fat (indirectly estimated by bioelectrical impedance analysis with visceral fat rating (VFR)), leptin, adiponectin and visfatin. The smell and taste ass…

Executive Functions Profile in Extreme Eating/Weight Conditions : From Anorexia Nervosa to Obesity

Background: Extreme weight conditions (EWC) groups along a continuum may share some biological risk factors and intermediate neurocognitive phenotypes. A core cognitive trait in EWC appears to be executive dysfunction, with a focus on decision making, response inhibition and cognitive flexibility. Differences between individuals in these areas are likely to contribute to the differences in vulnerability to EWC. The aim of the study was to investigate whether there is a common pattern of executive dysfunction in EWC while comparing anorexia nervosa patients (AN), obese subjects (OB) and healthy eating/weight controls (HC). Methods: Thirty five AN patients, fifty two OB and one hundred thirty…

Using an adaptive display for the treatment of emotional disorders

A preliminary study on the use of an adaptive display for treating emotional disorders is presented. This adaptive display (named EMMA) varies the contents that are presented depending on the emotions of the user at each moment. The application has been designed to help in the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Adjustment Disorder (AD). The specific objective of the present work is to test the effectiveness of this adaptive display, specifically the acceptance of the treatment by patients. EMMA's tools are compared with the standard of care for PTSD and AD. Results showed differences only for the variable aversiveness. Participants in the EMMA condition evaluated the tre…

A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Assessment of Small Animals Phobia Using Virtual Reality as a Stimulus

[EN] Background: To date, still images or videos of real animals have been used in functional magnetic resonance imaging protocols to evaluate the brain activations associated with small animals phobia. Objective: The objective of our study was to evaluate the brain activations associated with small animals phobia through the use of virtual environments. This context will have the added benefit of allowing the subject to move and interact with the environment, giving the subject the illusion of being there. Methods: We have analyzed the brain activation in a group of phobic people while they navigated in a virtual environment that included the small animals that were the object of their pho…

Psychological countermeasures in manned space missions: “EARTH” system for the Mars-500 project

Spaceflights missions have revealed that exist critical psychological problems. The Mars-500 project was an isolation and confinement experiment for identifying problems and solutions related to spaceflights missions. Medical countermeasures, such as physical exercise for 'bone degradation' are well recognized, but it is also important to develop psychological countermeasures for a possible 'psychological degradation'.Clinical Psychology has techniques useful for treating psychological problems, recent advances in Positive Psychology open up new possibilities for promoting resilience, and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have proven their utility for enhancing psychological …

Body Image and Virtual Reality in Eating Disorders: Is Exposure to Virtual Reality More Effective than the Classical Body Image Treatment?

Body image (BI) disturbances are considered to be central in eating disorders (ED) psychopathology. There are few studies focused on the treatment of BI disturbances in ED, and most of them have used "traditional methods." The purpose of the present study was to probe the effectiveness of one specific component in the assessment and treatment of BI in ED by means of virtual reality (VR). Two treatment conditions were applied: (a) The Standard Body Image Treatment Condition (SBIT) and (b) the VR Condition. Thirteen eating disordered patients were randomly assigned to one of those conditions. No differences between both conditions were found in general ED measures, but patients treated in the…

Positive Technologies for Improving Health and Well-Being

In the last 20 years there have been two important developments of great importance to the field of psychological treatments. On the one hand, this meant the movement of positive psychology, and on the other, the introduction of information and communication technologies (ICT) to improve the daily clinical practice. In this paper a new field of study that attempts to strengthen ties and build bridges between them is introduced: Positive Technologies. This perspective seeks to promote the use of technology to foster personal growth and the development of human virtues and strengths, thus contributing to social and cultural development. In this chapter, we present four positive technologies: …

Life-review therapy with computer supplements for depression in the elderly: A randomized controlled trial

Life-review therapy has been recognized as an effective therapeutic approach for depression in older adults. Additionally, the use of new media is becoming increasingly common in psychological interventions. The aim of this study was to investigate a life-review therapy in a face-to-face setting with additional computer use. This study explored whether a six-week life-review therapy with computer supplements from the e-mental health Butler system constitutes an effective approach to treat depression in older adults aged 65 and over. A total of 36 participants with elevated levels of depressive symptoms were randomized to a treatment group or a waiting-list control group and completed the po…

Analysis of the efficacy of an internet-based self-administered intervention ("Living Better") to promote healthy habits in a population with obesity and hypertension: An exploratory randomized controlled trial.

Este artículo se encuentra disponible en la página web de la revista en la siguiente URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1386505618304647?via%3Dihub This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Mensorio, Marinna S., Cebolla-Martí, Ausiàs, Rodilla, Enrique, Palomar, Gonzalo, Lisón, Juan Francisco, Botella, Cristina, et al. (2019). Analysis of the efficacy of an internet-based self-administered intervention (“Living Better”) to promote healthy habits in a population with obesity and hypertension: an exploratory randomized controlled trial. International Journal of Medical Informatics, vol. 124, pp. 13-23, which has been published in final form at htt…

Online prevention programmes for university students: stakeholder perspectives from six European countries

Abstract Background Students beginning university are at a heightened risk for developing mental health disorders. Online prevention and early intervention programmes targeting mental health have the potential to reduce this risk, however, previous research has shown uptake to be rather poor. Understanding university stakeholders’ (e.g. governing level and delivery staff [DS] and students) views and attitudes towards such online prevention programmes could help with their development, implementation and dissemination within university settings. Methods Semi-structured interviews, focus groups and online surveys were completed with staff at a governing level, university students and DS (i.e.…

Enduring Changes in Decision Making in Patients with Full Remission from Anorexia Nervosa

Background: Deficits in neuropsychological functioning have consistently been identified in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN). However, little is known on how decision making in AN patients evolves in response to treatment or whether impairments are reversible. Method: AN patients (n = 42) completed the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) upon admission to a 3-month day-hospital treatment programme and at a 1-year follow-up. Patient IGT performance was compared to age-matched controls (n = 46). Results: AN patients displayed poorer performance on the IGT at admission compared to controls (p <.001). Patients with full remission (n = 31; 73.9%) at the 1-year follow-up improved IGT performance (p = 0.0…

The acceptability of an Internet-based self-help treatment for fear of public speaking

ABSTRACT Several randomised controlled studies have shown the efficacy of Internet-based self-help treatments. These studies have centred their attention on axis I (efficacy) of the Guidelines for Empirically Validated Treatments, although there are a few studies that also take into account axis II (effectiveness). The aim of the present work was to test the acceptability of an Internet-based self-help program for fear of public speaking and to compare its acceptability with the same treatment administered by a therapist. Fifty-two participants suffering from social phobia were randomly selected to take part in one of these treatments. All participants reported being satisfied with the trea…

A brief online transdiagnostic measure: Psychometric properties of the Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale (OASIS) among Spanish patients with emotional disorders.

The Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale (OASIS) is a self-report questionnaire designed to evaluate the severity and functional impairment associated with anxiety. Given its transdiagnostic nature, it can be used indistinctly across anxiety and depressive disorders. In this study, the psychometric properties of the online version of the OASIS were evaluated in a Spanish clinical sample with emotional disorders. Patients (n = 583) with anxiety (n = 250) and depression (n = 333) with a mean age of 37.21 (SD = 12.22), underwent a diagnostic interview and questionnaires assessing anxiety, depression, positive and negative affect, and quality of life. Factorial structure, internal cons…

Using virtual reality and mood-induction procedures to test products with consumers of ceramic tiles

This work describes a Virtual Reality Environment (VRE), through which users are able to view and test ceramic tile products. Users' virtual interfacing with the products generated emotional experiences that allowed them to feel ''engaged'' with the products. Users could choose between different kinds of products and test them out in order to know how they would look in a real-world context. In the VRE several mood-induction Procedures for inducing relaxation were included. The VRE was tested with respect to its ability to induce relaxation and sense of presence in 26 participants. It was also analyzed the level of satisfaction. Measures included the Visual Analogue Scale, the Self-Assessme…

La validación transcultural de intervenciones clínicas basadas en evidencia para el tratamiento de trastornos de ansiedad

Las aplicaciones de tecnologias avanzadas han generado la emergencia de un espacio de investigacion en ciencias del comportamiento. El creciente acervo de publicaciones, sobre la eficacia y eficiencia de programas de intervencion para una serie de trastornos psicologicos, plantea la necesidad de fortalecerlos, evaluando su generalizacion a otros contextos culturales para contribuir a la medicion de la validez externa. Mediante la colaboracion de dos grupos de investigacion, se realizo la validacion transcultural de tres intervenciones empleando realidad virtual para el tratamiento de miedo a volar, agorafobia y miedo a hablar en publico con un programa auto-aplicado, que demostraron previam…

Exploring the Relationship Between the Acceptability of an InternetBased Intervention for Depression in Primary Care and Clinical Outcomes: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Depression is one of the most prevalent psychological disorders worldwide. Although psychotherapy for depression is effective, there are barriers to its implementation in primary care in Spain. The use of the Internet has been shown to be a feasible solution. However, the acceptability of Internet-based interventions has not been studied sufficiently. Objective: To assess the acceptability of an Internet-based intervention (IBI) for depression in primary care, and explore the relationship between expectations and satisfaction and the improvement in the clinical variables in primary care patients receiving this intervention. Furthermore, it offers data about the effects of some s…

Healthy Teens @ School: Evaluating and disseminating transdiagnostic preventive interventions for eating disorders and obesity for adolescents in school settings

Background The worldwide prevalence of overweight and obesity is at alarming levels. Nearly one in three children in Europe is overweight or obese. Disordered eating and body image concerns are equally widespread and increase risk for more chronic and severe weight-related problems. Research has shown that online interventions that address both healthy weight regulation and body image can reduce risk for eating disorders and obesity simultaneously and are feasible to implement in school settings. To date, evaluation and dissemination of such programs in Europe is scant. Methods The Healthy Teens @ School study is a multi-country cluster-randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing the effect…

Efficacy of “Family Connections”, a program for relatives of people with borderline personality disorder, in the Spanish population: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background Patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) experience significant affect regulation difficulties that cause serious consequences in their work, emotional, and social environments. This dysfunctional pattern also produces great suffering and a heavy burden on their relatives. Fortunately, some studies show that treatment of relatives of people with BPD begins to be important in the patients’ recovery and in improving family dynamics. One of the treatments that has obtained the most empirical support is Family connections (FC). This 12-session program is an adaptation of different Dialectical Behavior Therapy strategies. To test the efficacy of FC, five uncontroll…

Virtual reality exposure and imaginal exposure in the treatment of fear of flying: a pilot study

Fear of flying (FF) is an impairing psychological disorder that is extremely common in developed countries. The most effective treatment for this particular type of phobia is exposure therapy. However, there are few studies comparing imaginal exposure (IE) and virtual reality (VR) exposure for the treatment of FF. The present study compared the effectiveness of these two approaches using two manualized interventions based on the exposure technique. Patients with FF ( N = 15) were randomly assigned to either VR ( n = 7) or IE therapy ( n = 8), consisting of a total of eight sessions: two assessment sessions (pre-treatment and after the real flight) and six exposure therapy sessions, which w…

Expectations, experiences and attitudes of patients and primary care health professionals regarding online psychotherapeutic interventions for depression: Protocol for a qualitative study

Abstract Background In the year 2020, depression will cause the second highest amount of disability worldwide. One quarter of the population will suffer from depression symptoms at some point in their lives. Mental health services in Western countries are overburdened. Therefore, cost-effective interventions that do not involve mental health services, such as online psychotherapy programs, have been proposed. These programs demonstrate satisfactory outcomes, but the completion rate for patients is low. Health professionals’ attitudes towards this type of psychotherapy are more negative than the attitudes of depressed patients themselves. The aim of this study is to describe the profile of d…

Efficacy of a cognitive and behavioral treatment for childhood obesity supported by the ETIOBE web platform

Recently, the prevalence of childhood obesity has increased alar- mingly. Interventions combining eating habits, physical activity (PA), behavioral components, and family support have been shown to be effective, although variables such as self-efficacy beliefs and motivation seem to be important in achieving stable changes. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) can provide additional resources to traditional treatments. The objective is to analyze the efficacy of two treatments: a cognitive and behavioral treatment (CBT) focused on the promotion of healthy eating and PA habits, and this CBT intervention supported by a web platform (ETIOBE). Forty-seven obese children were random…

Study on the Acceptability of an ICT Platform for Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment

EhcoBUTLER is an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solution funded by the European Union (H2020; ID: 643566) and intended especially for elderly people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to improve their health, independence and quality of life, particularly at the social level. The purpose of this study is to assess the acceptability of ehcoBUTLER based on a survey delivered to potential users and actors involved in their care, exploring their expectations and preferences, while anticipating the system’s functional requirements. The survey was delivered online to 313 participants (11% end users, 25% informal caregivers, 48% formal caregivers and 16% administration/management…

PPOSITIVE CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND POSITIVE TECHNOLOGIES

Clinical psychology has advanced significantly in the past hundred years, and we now have evidence-based psychological treatments. However, this does not mean that there is no room for further improvement in this discipline. In the past twenty years, two important developments have been identified as being beneficial for this field: on the one hand, the Positive psychology movement and its crystallization in the discipline of positive clinical psychology; on the other, the introduction of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to improve daily clinical practice. In this paper, we address these developments and present a new field of study that attempts to strengthen the ties and …

In vivo versus augmented reality exposure in the treatment of small animal phobia: A randomized controlled trial

Although in vivo exposure is the treatment of choice for specific phobias, some acceptability problems have been associated with it. Virtual Reality exposure has been shown to be as effective as in vivo exposure, and it is widely accepted for the treatment of specific phobias, but only preliminary data are available in the literature about the efficacy of Augmented Reality. The purpose of the present study was to examine the efficacy and acceptance of two treatment conditions for specific phobias in which the exposure component was applied in different ways: In vivo exposure (N = 31) versus an Augmented Reality system (N = 32) in a randomized controlled trial. “One-session treatment” guidel…

EMMA: An Adaptive Display for Virtual Therapy

Environments used up to now for therapeutic applications are invariable ones. Their contents can not be changed neither by the therapist nor by the patient. However, this is a technical issue that can be solved with current technology. In this paper, we describe a virtual environment that has been developed taking into account this factor. The main technical feature of the environment is that its aspect can be modified controlled by the therapist that conducts the clinical sessions depending on the emotions that the patient is feeling at each moment, and depending on the purpose of the clinical session. The environment has been applied for the treatment of post traumatic stress disorder, pa…

Editorial: Positive Technology: Designing E-experiences for Positive Change

While there is little doubt that our lives are becoming increasingly digital, whether this change is for the better or for the worse is far from being settled. Rather, over the past years concerns about the personal and social impacts of technologies have been growing, fueled by dystopian Orwellian scenarios that almost on daily basis are generously dispensed by major Western media outlets. According to a recent poll involving some 1,150 experts, 47% of respondents predict that individuals’ well-being will bemore helped than harmed by digital life in the next decade, while 32% say people’s well-being will bemore harmed than helped. Only 21% of those surveyed indicated that the impact of tec…

Exploring the Effectiveness of Dialectical Behavior Therapy Versus Systems Training for Emotional Predictability and Problem Solving in a Sample of Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder.

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and systems training for emotional predictability and problem solving (STEPPS) are two treatment protocols for people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) that have received important empirical support. However, their possible differential effectiveness has not yet been studied. The objective of this study is to explore the effectiveness of these two treatment programs. A nonrandomized clinical trial was carried out in which both treatments were applied for six months. The sample consisted of 72 patients diagnosed with BPD. The results indicate that both groups experienced a statistically significant reduction in BPD symptom, emotional regulation, i…

Efficacy of Three Low-Intensity, Internet-Based Psychological Interventions for the Treatment of Depression in Primary Care: Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Primary care is a major access point for the initial treatment of depression, but the management of these patients is far from optimal The lack of time in primary care is one of the major difficulties for the delivery of evidence-based psychotherapy. During the last decade, research has focused on the development of brief psychotherapy and cost-effective internet-based interventions mostly based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Very little research has focused on alternative methods of treatment for depression using CBT. Thus, there is a need for research into other therapeutic approaches. Objective: This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of 3 low-intensity, internet…

Physical activity in anorexia nervosa: How relevant is it to therapy response?

AbstractObjectiveElevated physical activity has been observed in some patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) despite their emaciated condition. However, its effects on treatment outcome remain unclear. This study aimed to examine objectively measured physical activity in this clinical population and how it might be related to a partial hospitalization therapy response, after considering potential confounders.MethodThe sample comprised 88 AN patients consecutively enrolled in a day hospital treatment program, and 116 healthy-weight controls. All participants were female and a baseline assessment took place using an accelerometer (Actiwatch AW7) to measure physical activity, the Eating Disorders…

The VEPSY UPDATED Project: Clinical Rationale and Technical Approach.

More than 10 years ago, Tart (1990) described virtual reality (VR) as a technological model of consciousness offering intriguing possibilities for developing diagnostic, inductive, psychotherapeutic, and training techniques that can extend and supplement current ones. To exploit and understand this potential is the overall goal of the "Telemedicine and Portable Virtual Environment in Clinical Psychology"--VEPSY UPDATED--a European Community-funded research project (IST-2000-25323, www.cybertherapy.info). Particularly, its specific goal is the development of different PC-based virtual reality modules to be used in clinical assessment and treatment of social phobia, panic disorders, male sexu…

How and for whom does a positive affect intervention work in fibromyalgia: An analysis of mediators and moderators.

Objectives: Psychological interventions designed to enhance positive affect are promising ways to promote adaptive functioning in people with chronic pain. However, few studies have addressed the efficacy of positive affect interventions in chronic pain populations and examined which patients can benefit more from them. The aim of the present study was to identify mediators and moderators of the best possible self intervention (BPS) in fibromyalgia patients.Methods: We used data from a previous randomized controlled trial that examined changes in pain interference, depression, self‐efficacy and quality of life after the BPS intervention.Results: Mediation analyses showed that depression med…

Virtual reality in the treatment of claustrophobic fear: A controlled, multiple-baseline design

The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) exposure in the treatment of claustrophobic fear. We evaluated the intervention following a controlled, multiple-baseline design across 4 participants with claustrophobic fear who sought psychological help in our anxiety disorders clinic. The treatment consisted of 8 individual VR graded exposure sessions. Data were obtained at pretreatment, posttreatment, and 3-month follow-up on several clinical measures: Behavioral Avoidance Test, Self-Efficacy Toward Closed Spaces, Problem-Related Impairment Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory (Beck, 1978), and Anxiety Sensitivity Index (Peterson & Reiss, 1992). Result…

Additional file 1: of An Internet-based treatment for flying phobia (NO-FEAR Airlines): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

SPIRIT 2013 Checklist: Recommended items to address in a clinical trial protocol and related documents. (DOCX 61 kb)

Effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy supported by virtual reality in the treatment of body image in eating disorders: One year follow-up

Body image disturbance is a significant maintenance and prognosis factor in eating disorders. Hence, existing eating disorder treatments can benefit from direct intervention in patients' body image. No controlled studies have yet compared eating disorder treatments with and without a treatment component centered on body image. This paper includes a controlled study comparing Cognitive Behavioral Treatment (CBT) for eating disorders with and without a component for body image treatment using Virtual Reality techniques. Thirty-four participants diagnosed with eating disorders were evaluated and treated. The clinical improvement was analyzed from statistical and clinical points of view. Result…

An Internet-Based Self-Help Treatment for Fear of Public Speaking: A Controlled Trial

Abstract This study offers data about the efficacy of “Talk to Me,” an Internet-based telepsychology program for the treatment of fear of public speaking that includes the most active components in cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) for social phobia (exposure and cognitive therapies). One hundred twenty-seven participants with social phobia were randomly assigned to three experimental conditions: (a) an Internet-based self-administered program; (b) the same program applied by a therapist; (c) a waiting-list control group. Results showed that both treatment conditions were equally efficacious. In addition, Talk to Me and the same treatment applied by a therapist were more efficacious than the…

Interaction Between Orexin-A and Sleep Quality in Females in Extreme Weight Conditions

The current study examined the relationship between plasma orexin-A and sleep in obesity. Concentrations of orexin-A and sleep were evaluated in 26 obese, 40 morbid obese and 32 healthy-weight participants. The sleep monitor Actiwatch AW7 and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were used to evaluate sleep. The Symptom Checklist-90-Revised was administered to assess symptoms of psychopathology. A higher weight status was associated with elevated orexin-A levels (p =.050), greater depression, anxiety and somatization symptoms (all: p <.001), and impoverished self-reported sleep quality (p <.001). A quadratic trend was found in objective sleep time, being longest in the obese group (p =.031). S…

Are validation scales useful for Detecting Deliberately Faked Personality Tests? A study in incarcerated populations

Personality self-report questionnaires are frequently used in forensic settings to detect psychopathology, to predict recidivism, and to assess adaptability to life in prison. Although most personality questionnaires include validity or control scales, even with the scales most outcomes can be easily manipulated. The aim of this study is to analyze the utility of the control scales of the Situational Personality Questionnaire. A sample of 200 male prisoners was randomized into two groups. Both groups completed the SPQ as a part of the mandatory psychological assessment when they entered prison, and then again 8 months later. In time 2, one group received instructions to falsify the results …

Presence-inducing media for mental health applications

Presence inducing media have recently emerged as a potentially effective way to provide general and specialty mental health services, and they appear poised to enter mainstream clinical delivery. However, to ensure appropriate development and use of these technologies, clinicians must have a clear understanding of the opportunities and challenges they will provide to professional practice.

Confirmatory factor analysis and psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire-Appearance Scales in early adolescents

The main aim of this study was to confirm the factorial structure of the Spanish version of the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire-Appearance Scales in early adolescents from 12 to 14 years. The sample included 355 participants, 189 girls and 166 boys, with ages ranging from 12 to 14 years old. The original MBSRQ-AS 5-factor structure was confirmed, and the model showed a good fit to the data: Appearance Evaluation, Appearance Orientation, Body Areas Satisfaction, Overweight Preoccupation, and Self-Classified Weight. The internal consistency of the test scores was adequate. Girls had higher score s than boys on Appearance Orientation, Overweight Preoccupation, and Self-Class…

Additional file 1: of Efficacy of an internet-based exposure treatment for flying phobia (NO-FEAR Airlines) with and without therapist guidance: a randomized controlled trial

NO-FEAR Airlines. Video about NO-FEAR Airlines, an Internet-based Exposure treatment for Flying Phobia. The video includes a description about the online program, how it works and on how it has been assessed in an RCT. (MP4 58734 kb)