0000000001254405
AUTHOR
Juana Bretón-lópez
showing 22 related works from this author
An adaptive display to treat stress-related disorders: EMMA's World
2009
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
2015
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…
Implementation of a Positive Technology Application in Patients With Eating Disorders: A Pilot Randomized Control Trial.
2018
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…
Smiling is Fun, an online intervention for the prevention and treatment of emotional disorders
2016
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…
Acceptability of virtual reality interoceptive exposure for the treatment of panic disorder with agoraphobia
2013
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…
Internet-Based Intervention for Secondary and Tertiary Prevention of Depressive Symptoms
2016
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 …
An Internet-based treatment for flying phobia (NO-FEAR Airlines): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
2016
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…
The acceptability of an internet-based exposure treatment for flying phobia with and without therapist guidance: Patients’ expectations, satisfaction…
2018
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…
An Internet-based program for depression using activity and physiological sensors: efficacy, expectations, satisfaction, and ease of use
2016
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
2011
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 …
Exploring the Incorporation of a Positive Psychology Component in a Cognitive Behavioral Internet-Based Program for Depressive Symptoms. Results Thro…
2018
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…
Capturing the Severity and Impairment Associated With Depression: The Overall Depression Severity and Impairment Scale (ODSIS) Validation in a Spanis…
2019
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 program for depressive symptoms using human and automated support: a randomized controlled trial
2017
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…
Enhancing in vivo exposure in the treatment of panic disorder and agoraphobia using location-based technologies: a case study
2019
Panic disorder (PD) is quite prevalent and often appears along with agoraphobia (PD/A). The treatment of choice is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Transdiagnostic intervention, an emotion-focused, cognitive behavioral intervention that has led to the Unified Protocol (UP), emphasizes the common underlying mechanisms that contribute to the development and maintenance of emotional disorders such as PD/A. A core feature of this treatment approach is in vivo exposure (IVE) to feared situations, which aims to prevent avoidance behaviors and encourages the patient to confront feared situations gradually. It is a difficult component for patients, especially when implementing the exposure on t…
Smartphone Apps for the Treatment of Mental Disorders: Systematic Review
2020
Background Smartphone apps are an increasingly popular means for delivering psychological interventions to patients suffering from a mental disorder. In line with this popularity, there is a need to analyze and summarize the state of the art, both from a psychological and technical perspective. Objective This study aimed to systematically review the literature on the use of smartphones for psychological interventions. Our systematic review has the following objectives: (1) analyze the coverage of mental disorders in research articles per year; (2) study the types of assessment in research articles per mental disorder per year; (3) map the use of advanced technical features, such as sensors…
Efficacy of an internet-based exposure treatment for flying phobia (NO-FEAR Airlines) with and without therapist guidance: a randomized controlled tr…
2019
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…
Treatment of flying phobia using virtual reality exposure with or without cognitive restructuring: Participant's preferences
2015
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…
Efficacy of an internet-based psychological intervention for problem gambling and gambling disorder: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
2021
Gambling Disorder is a prevalent non-substance use disorder, which contrasts with the low number of people requesting treatment. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) could help to enhance the dissemination of evidence-based treatments and considerably reduce the costs. The current study seeks to assess the efficacy of an online psychological intervention for people suffering from gambling problems in Spain. The proposed study will be a two-arm, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial. A total of 134 participants (problem and pathological gamblers) will be randomly allocated to a waiting list control group (N = 67) or an intervention group (N = 67). The intervention program i…
A brief online transdiagnostic measure: Psychometric properties of the Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale (OASIS) among Spanish patients w…
2018
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…
In vivo versus augmented reality exposure in the treatment of small animal phobia: A randomized controlled trial
2016
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…
Additional file 1: of An Internet-based treatment for flying phobia (NO-FEAR Airlines): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
2016
SPIRIT 2013 Checklist: Recommended items to address in a clinical trial protocol and related documents. (DOCX 61 kb)
Additional file 1: of Efficacy of an internet-based exposure treatment for flying phobia (NO-FEAR Airlines) with and without therapist guidance: a ra…
2019
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)