Online versions of single session virtual reality therapy and emdr flash therapy on the treatment of flying fear

Aviation has become an essential component of the worldwide environment; nonetheless, several individuals continue to experience aviophobia. Despite the availability of several therapies for aviophobia, research on single-session interventions yielding accelerated results is limited. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of the single-session Online Virtual Reality Therapy (OVRET) and the single-session online flash technique at a four-week follow-up. The research design disregarded relaxation or breathing methods to concentrate only on the effects of exposure and therapy. In the present study, individuals obtained by convenience sampling were randomly allocated to the OVRET group, the online flash technique group, or the psychoeducation-only group. This experiment was registered on December 27, 2024, at ClinicalTrials.gov (Registration number: NCT06758635) and it was funded by the Ibn Haldun University Research Fund (Number: 2238). The findings indicated substantial differences between groups, before and after treatment. The OVRET group exhibited reduced levels of flight-related fear and anxiety in the FAS, FAM, and VAFAS assessments; however, the flash technique group demonstrated statistically significant differences just in the VAFAS tests as compared to the psychoeducation group. The research emphasises the efficacy of online single-session therapies designed to immediately alleviate anxiety and fear to flying. The OVRET and partially the EMDR flash technique, were found to be effective in treating aviophobia, as evidenced by the findings of the study.