To ensure the well-being of the participants, a preliminary evaluation of the treatment was carried out with psychologists with experience in patients with phobias in the Mexican population. This evaluation consisted of receiving feedback from phobic users on the treatment proposal and obtaining their perception of usefulness and experience of use regarding each gradual exposure therapy. The intention is to strengthen the content of the treatment using different types of multimedia to represent the object of fear and improve the interaction of the VTA. The details of the evaluation process and results can be consulted in González-Lozoya et al. (2021) [23 (link)]. A possible negative effect of our proposal exists when a wrong diagnosis is made regarding the severity level of the patient’s phobia. Should this occur, it would be possible for a patient to start treatment at a stage with a high intensity of phobic exposure, where she/he could experience a state of crisis and aggravate the phobia. To prevent this type of situation, the participant is asked to fill out a form with truthful data to evaluate a diagnosis (section IV of the ADIS-IV interview for specific phobias) to obtain the level of severity of the phobia and ensure that the initial stage of exposure is correct. To ensure this, the participant will receive detailed instructions through an explanatory and instructive video that will inform the importance of capturing the user’s data as accurately as possible, along with an initial call by the therapist as reinforcement to solve doubts and receive comments about the study. In case of an adverse event during the intervention, the participant will be withdrawn from the study and will receive personalized attention from the specialist to stabilize him/her.
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