At a glance
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ENGAGE Pilot Study: Alleviating Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia Using a Virtual Reality-based Intervention Targeting Social Reward Learning
In Brief
A clinical study evaluating Virtual Reality-based psychotherapy for Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders and Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia. Completed, enrolled 30 participants across 1 site.
Detailed Summary
The primary goal of this pilot study is to examine the feasibility and acceptability of a new Virtual Reality-based intervention against negative symptoms in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD). The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Is Virtual Reality-based therapy a feasible and acceptable treatment for negative symptoms in SSD? 2. Are there indications that the treatment is effective in reducing negative symptoms, improving daily functioning, and enhancing quality of life? Researchers will compare the new Virtual Reality-based treatment to standard psychiatric care to evaluate therapy effectiveness. Participants will be allocated to receive either 10 sessions of Virtual Reality-based therapy or Treatment as usual. All participants will undergo a thorough assessment at baseline and at follow-up after 12 weeks.
Study Details
Timeline
Interventions
A manualized, modularized, Virtual Reality-based intervention comprising 10 sessions of 1 hour each. The VR therapy aims at enhancing anticipatory pleasure and positive emotions by amplifying exposure and reactivity towards social environments and rewarding activities using a highly elaborate VR software. The VR exposure comprises several different virtual social environments (e.g., a bus, a café, a park etc.) In a tailored treatment approach, therapists will guide participants to train focusing on positive stimuli, engage in activities, experience social rewards, and practice expressing emotions through body language. The therapy focuses on increasing the awareness of positive outcomes that may influence motivation. The therapy deploys activity appraisal/re-appraisal intended to enhance the salience of future opportunities for reward and desire for such rewards, thus targeting reward anticipation processes and promoting enjoyable daily-life activities.