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BMC Psychiatry
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Open Access 01-12-2023 | Schizophrenia | Research

Exploration of the role of emotional expression of treatment-resistant schizophrenia patients having followed virtual reality therapy: a content analysis

Authors: Alexandre Hudon, Veronica Lammatteo, Sophie Rodrigues-Coutlée, Laura Dellazizzo, Sabrina Giguère, Kingsada Phraxayavong, Stéphane Potvin, Alexandre Dumais

Published in: BMC Psychiatry | Issue 1/2023

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Abstract

Background

Emotional responses are an important component of psychotherapeutic processes. Avatar therapy (AT) is a virtual reality-based therapy currently being developed and studied for patients suffering from treatment resistant schizophrenia. Considering the importance of identifying emotions in therapeutical processes and their impact on the therapeutic outcome, an exploration of such emotions is needed.

Methods

The aim of this study is to identify the underlying emotions at the core of the patient-Avatar interaction during AT by content analysis of immersive sessions transcripts and audio recordings. A content analysis of AT transcripts and audio recordings using iterative categorization was conducted for 16 patients suffering from TRS who underwent AT between 2017 and 2022 (128 transcripts and 128 audio recordings). An iterative categorization technique was conducted to identify the different emotions expressed by the patient and the Avatar during the immersive sessions.

Results

The following emotions were identified in this study: Anger, Contempt/ Disgust, Fear, Sadness, Shame/ Embarrassment, Interest, Surprise, Joy and Neutral. Patients expressed mostly neutral, joy and anger emotions whereas the Avatar expressed predominantly interest, disgust/contempt, and neutral emotions.

Conclusions

This study portrays a first qualitative insight on the emotions that are expressed in AT and serves as a steppingstone for further investigation in the role of emotions in the therapeutic outcomes of AT.
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Metadata
Title
Exploration of the role of emotional expression of treatment-resistant schizophrenia patients having followed virtual reality therapy: a content analysis
Authors
Alexandre Hudon
Veronica Lammatteo
Sophie Rodrigues-Coutlée
Laura Dellazizzo
Sabrina Giguère
Kingsada Phraxayavong
Stéphane Potvin
Alexandre Dumais
Publication date
01-12-2023
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Psychiatry / Issue 1/2023
Electronic ISSN: 1471-244X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-023-04861-2

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