خلاصة:
Objective: Obsessive-compulsive disorder affects the cognitive, mental and emotional order of sufferers and leads to a decrease in their performance. According to this this study was aimed at comparing the effectiveness of virtual reality exposure therapy with cognitive-behavioral therapy on obsessivecompulsive disorder symptoms amongst people with the disorder. Materials and Methods: A quasi-experimental method was employed followed by a pretest-posttest and a two-month follow-up. The population consisted of all people referred to Nik Mehr Counseling and Psychological Services in Tehran in 2020 and 2021. From among them, 45 were selected through convenience sampling method , randomly put in experimental and control groups and received Maudsley's Obsessive-Compulsive Questionnaire. The follow-up was then implemented on subjects by receiving virtual reality exposure for 12 sessions (2 eight-minute sessions per week for 6 weeks) and cognitive-behavioral therapy for 12 sessions (2 forty-five-minute sessions per week for 6 weeks. The control group did not receive any intervention. Results were analyzed through ANOVA and Bonferroni Post-hoc Test with SPSS-23. Findings: The results showed that both therapies appeared effective (F=192; Eta=0. 67; P <0001) on people with the disorder as they reduced obsession syndromes. Also, the follow-up test indicated that there is no significant difference between the effectiveness of these two therapies on subjects with obsessive-compulsive disorder (P <0. 05). Conclusion: According to the results, since there is no difference in the effectiveness of virtual reality exposure therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy, both can be applied to reduce obsession syndromes amongst people with the disorder.