Virtual treatment for veteran social anxiety disorder: A comparison of 360° video and 3D virtual reality

Abstract Virtual environments have been increasingly used in conjunction with traditional cognitive behavioral treatments for disorders, such as posttraumatic stress disorder and social anxiety disorder. Research has found that virtual environments can be effectively used as an alternative to in vivo or imaginal exposure. However, research has yet to compare the costs and benefits of different platforms, such as virtual reality and 360° video, for creating virtual environments. The current qualitative study compares the experiences of veterans with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and social anxiety disorder as they interact with a virtual grocery store environment. Participants were randomly assigned to experience the virtual reality (n = 7) or 360° video (n = 5) environments. After experiencing the virtual environments, the participants were interviewed about their perceptions of immersion, feasibility, and acceptability of the modality. Portions of the interviews are presented along with recommendations for clinical researchers seeking to use virtual technology with clinical treatments.