ABSTRACT
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by the presence of distressing, recurrent and intrusive thoughts, impulses, or doubts as well as behavioral or mental rituals. OCD has various subtypes, including the fear of contamination in which individuals fear bacteria, germs, disease, or bodily secretions, and engage in clinically significant cleaning and avoidance rituals. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for OCD and involves, among other therapeutic strategies, exposing patients to feared stimuli while preventing them to engage in compulsive behaviors. In recent years, virtual reality (VR) has shown the potential of in virtuo exposure with people suffering from anxiety disorders and OCD. The objective of this pilot study is to examine the effectiveness of a CBT program where exposure in conducted in virtuo. Three adults suffering from OCD with a dominant subtype of contamination were enrolled in a single-case design with multiple baselines across participants. The presence and intensity of obsessions and compulsions were assessed daily during baselines of 3-, 4-, or 5-week, and a 12-session treatment. Follow-up information was gathered after 4 and 8 months. Treatment outcome is assessed with visual inspection of the graphs and ARMA time-series analyses. Clinical information, self-reports, and details of the treatment are provided for each patient. Statistical analyses for the time-series data revealed a statistically significant improvement in all three participants, but global improvement is considered positive for only two. This study innovates in proving preliminary support for the usefulness of VR in the CBT of OCD with contamination features.
ABSTRACT
Este artículo se ciñe en las investigaciones de Mesly (1999 a 2012) y presenta los límites de conducta funcional de la percepción percibida en un estudio de 19 grupos distintos repartidos en un periodo de cuatro años. La constante k =1.3 identifica el carácter invariable de la depredación percibida. Los resultados se asemejan a los de la teoría del apego y de la depredación financiera estipulando que los depredadores financieros actúan por debajo de los límites de detección de los clientes y de las agencias de control de los mercados, por ello se vuelven expertos en reducir a la mínima expresión la percepción de los clientes causándoles un daño financiero serio (AU)
This paper rests largely on the works of Mesly (1999 to 2012). It argues that the phenomenon of perceived predation as a functional behavioural phenomenon is subjected to certain limits, a finding based on studies performed on 19 different groups spread over a four-year span. It also finds a constant of k = 1.3 which reflects the invariant nature of perceived predation. These findings add to the theory of financial predation which stipulates that financial predators operate below the limits of detection pertaining to their customers (and market regulators). They are experts at minimizing the perception that clients could have that they are after their money, causing them financial harm, by surprise (perceived predation). Understanding the narrow range in which financial predators operate is setting the grounds to offer better protection to investors and to implementing better control and punitive measures (AU)
