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Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for panic disorder with agoraphobia (PDA). However, implementation of some of the procedures involved, particularly in vivo exposure, can be time consuming and taxing for routine health care services. CBT with exposure taking place in virtual reality (VR-CBT) is a more time-efficient option and has shown promising results in the treatment of PDA. However, VR-CBT requires expensive equipment and appropriate virtual environments, which historically has been costly and cumbersome to produce. Thus, access to VR-CBT has been sparse in regular care environments.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether VR-CBT using filmed virtual environments produced with a low-cost 360-degree film camera can be a feasible and acceptable treatment for PDA when implemented in a primary care context.

This was an open …