Evaluation of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention With and Without Virtual Reality Dialectical Behavior Therapy® Mindfulness Skills Training for the Treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Primary Care: A Pilot Study
Frontiers in Psychology January 28, 2019 M. Navarro-Haro, M. Modrego-Alarcón, H. Hoffman et al.
Both a standard mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) alone and the same MBI plus 10 minutes of Virtual Reality DBT® Mindfulness Skills training significantly reduced symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder in primary care patients, with large effect sizes. The combined treatment led to higher treatment completion: 100% of patients in the MBI+VR group finished the program versus 70% in the MBI-only group. Both groups also improved in depression, emotion regulation, mindfulness, and interoceptive awareness. The findings suggest that adding a brief VR component to MBI may improve adherence, though larger randomized controlled trials are needed.