가상현실을 이용한 알코올중독자의 단서노출 치료
Cue-Exposure Therapy using Virtual Reality for alcohol Addicts
- Kwon, Hyo-Seok (Department of Psychology, Chung-Ang University) ;
- Roh, Sung-Won (Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hanyang University) ;
- Choi, Joon-Ho (Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hanyang University) ;
- Yang, Byung-Hwan (Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hanyang University) ;
- Lee, Jang-Han (Department of Psychology, Chung-Ang University)
- 발행 : 2006.02.13
초록
During abstinence from alcohol, craving is elicited by the cues and contexts previously associated with alcohol, and contributes to relapse. To prevent the craving and relapse experienced by alcoholics, cue-exposure therapy (CET) has been used to extinguish the association between alcohol and alcohol-related cues and contexts. This study applied CET, using a virtual reality (VR) system, to eight members of an Alcoholics Anonymous group, in eight sessions. Cues and contexts most likely to elicit an urge to drink were selected through a preliminary survey in order to compose VR-CET scenarios: a glass, bottle, food, and a bar were judged to be the most tempting for people in alcohol dependence and abstinence. By these cues and contexts, a Japanese style pub and a western bar were composed. Each session was administered for 30 minutes by a psychiatrist and included an introduction, immersion, VR navigation, interviews about feelings, and self-report questionnaires about cravings. The eight sessions consisted of initial and closing sessions, and six cue- and context-focused sessions. As a result, a reduction in cue-elicited craving after VR-CET was reported. A mean score of 15.75 (SD = 10.91) on the Alcohol Urge Questionnaire in the first session decreased to 11.57 (SD = 6.88) in the final session.