A Spiderless Arachnophobia Therapy: Comparison between Placebo and Treatment Groups and Six-Month Follow-Up Study
We describe a new arachnophobia therapy that is specially suited for those individuals with severe arachnophobia who are reluctant to undergo direct or even virtual exposure treatments. In this therapy, patients attend a computer presentation of images that, while not being spiders, have a subset of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2007-01-01
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| Series: | Neural Plasticity |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2007/10241 |
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| author | Laura Carmilo Granado Ronald Ranvaud Javier Ropero Peláez |
| author_facet | Laura Carmilo Granado Ronald Ranvaud Javier Ropero Peláez |
| author_sort | Laura Carmilo Granado |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We describe a new arachnophobia therapy that is specially suited for those individuals with severe arachnophobia who are reluctant to undergo direct or even virtual exposure treatments. In this therapy, patients attend a computer presentation of images that, while not being spiders, have a subset of the characteristics of spiders. The Atomium of Brussels is an example of such an image. The treatment group (n=13) exhibited a significant improvement
(time × group interaction: P=.0026) when compared to the placebo group
(n=12) in a repeated measures multivariate ANOVA.
A k-means clustering algorithm revealed that, after 4 weeks of treatment, 42% of the patients moved from the arachnophobic to the nonarachnophobic cluster. Six months after concluding the treatment, a follow-up study showed a substantial consolidation of the recovery process where 92% of the arachnophobic patients moved to the nonarachnophobic cluster. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2dc950ffe25643b98fe9f5ed2a96fc4b |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2090-5904 1687-5443 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2007-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Neural Plasticity |
| spelling | doaj-art-2dc950ffe25643b98fe9f5ed2a96fc4b2025-08-20T02:24:07ZengWileyNeural Plasticity2090-59041687-54432007-01-01200710.1155/2007/1024110241A Spiderless Arachnophobia Therapy: Comparison between Placebo and Treatment Groups and Six-Month Follow-Up StudyLaura Carmilo Granado0Ronald Ranvaud1Javier Ropero Peláez2Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, 1721 Avenue of Professor Mello Moraes, São Paulo 05508-030, BrazilDepartment of Physiology and Biophysics, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, 1524 Avenue Professor Lineu Prestes, Prédio Biomédicas I Cidade Universitária, São Paulo 05508-900, BrazilDepartment of Electronic Systems Engineering, Polytechnic School, University of São Paulo, 802 Rua Alameda Barros, Apartment T3, São Paulo 01232-000, BrazilWe describe a new arachnophobia therapy that is specially suited for those individuals with severe arachnophobia who are reluctant to undergo direct or even virtual exposure treatments. In this therapy, patients attend a computer presentation of images that, while not being spiders, have a subset of the characteristics of spiders. The Atomium of Brussels is an example of such an image. The treatment group (n=13) exhibited a significant improvement (time × group interaction: P=.0026) when compared to the placebo group (n=12) in a repeated measures multivariate ANOVA. A k-means clustering algorithm revealed that, after 4 weeks of treatment, 42% of the patients moved from the arachnophobic to the nonarachnophobic cluster. Six months after concluding the treatment, a follow-up study showed a substantial consolidation of the recovery process where 92% of the arachnophobic patients moved to the nonarachnophobic cluster.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2007/10241 |
| spellingShingle | Laura Carmilo Granado Ronald Ranvaud Javier Ropero Peláez A Spiderless Arachnophobia Therapy: Comparison between Placebo and Treatment Groups and Six-Month Follow-Up Study Neural Plasticity |
| title | A Spiderless Arachnophobia Therapy: Comparison between Placebo and Treatment Groups and Six-Month Follow-Up Study |
| title_full | A Spiderless Arachnophobia Therapy: Comparison between Placebo and Treatment Groups and Six-Month Follow-Up Study |
| title_fullStr | A Spiderless Arachnophobia Therapy: Comparison between Placebo and Treatment Groups and Six-Month Follow-Up Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Spiderless Arachnophobia Therapy: Comparison between Placebo and Treatment Groups and Six-Month Follow-Up Study |
| title_short | A Spiderless Arachnophobia Therapy: Comparison between Placebo and Treatment Groups and Six-Month Follow-Up Study |
| title_sort | spiderless arachnophobia therapy comparison between placebo and treatment groups and six month follow up study |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2007/10241 |
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