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Virtual Reality Avatar Therapy for People Hearing Voices

P

Psychiatric University Hospital, Zurich

Status

Enrolling

Conditions

Hearing Voices When No One is Talking (Symptom)
Schizophrenia
Psychosis
Schizo Affective Disorder

Treatments

Behavioral: Virtual Reality Avatar Therapy (VRAT)
Behavioral: Assertiveness Training Program (ATP)

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT04099940
VRAT- ATP

Details and patient eligibility

About

Hearing voices is probably the worst form of acoustic hallucinations; which can be experienced as severely disturbing and is influenced by diverse factors including the ability of the individual to influence and control the hallucinatory experience itself. In recent years virtual reality has become a treatment option. In the so-called AVATAR Therapy, patients with schizophrenia and acoustic hallucinations design a visual and auditory recreation (avatar) of the entity to which they attribute their hallucinations. Working with a therapist over the course of several sessions, participants change the avatar from controlling to benevolent. Avatar Therapy involves similar processes to learning and cognitive restructuring, comparable to other psychotherapeutic interventions. The investigators plan to conduct an interventional study using a cross-over design, to compare the feasibility and efficacy of virtual reality avatar therapy for patients with acoustic hallucinations (independent of psychiatric diagnosis) with a cognitive behavioural group therapy aimed to improve social competence.

Enrollment

100 estimated patients

Sex

All

Ages

18 to 65 years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

  • Consistent acoustic hallucinations, with the presence of voices for at least two months.
  • Participants are competent to give informed consent, as determined by the referring physician or psychiatrist.
  • German language proficiency as a native speaker or level B1 Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL)

Exclusion criteria

  • Current neurological disorder.
  • Current substance use or withdrawal.
  • Concomitant group psychotherapeutic intervention.

Trial design

Primary purpose

Treatment

Allocation

Randomized

Interventional model

Crossover Assignment

Masking

Single Blind

100 participants in 2 patient groups

Virtual Reality Avatar Therapy (VRAT)
Experimental group
Description:
In the VRAT, patients with schizophrenia and acoustic hallucinations design a visual and auditory recreation (avatar) of the entity to which they attribute their hallucinations. Working with a therapist over the course of several sessions, participants change the avatar from controlling to benevolent.
Treatment:
Behavioral: Assertiveness Training Program (ATP)
Behavioral: Virtual Reality Avatar Therapy (VRAT)
Assertiveness Training Program (ATP)
Active Comparator group
Description:
The ATP is a transdiagnostic cognitive behavioural treatment programme, which aims to increase self-confidence and social competence in patients with a psychiatric disorder.
Treatment:
Behavioral: Assertiveness Training Program (ATP)
Behavioral: Virtual Reality Avatar Therapy (VRAT)

Trial contacts and locations

1

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Central trial contact

Stephan T. Egger, MD

Data sourced from clinicaltrials.gov

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