Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Outpatients Trial

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

30 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2024-03-20

Study Completion Date

2027-03-31

Brief Summary

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The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) as a treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This study focuses on patients receiving treatment in outpatient psychiatry or clinical psychology settings, utilizing a within-subject design for comparison. Patients first complete informed consent and baseline questionnaires and are placed on a waiting list for five weeks. After this period, they are reassigned to the active (experimental) group, which will receive five sessions of exposure therapy in virtual reality over a subsequent five-week period. The treatment effect will be evaluated using pre/post assessments, as well as monitoring adherence to exposure and response prevention assignments.

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Detailed Description

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The virtual environment of so called "OCD house" is used as a tool for the therapy. Immersive VR glasses Meta Quest 2 are used to visualize the environment.

During exposure therapy, relevant virtual stimuli can be freely combined involving common objects and situations in the home that may trigger OCD symptoms and hoarding. Target stimuli (VR elements) are divided into several sets corresponding to OCD subtypes. During the session, the therapist can modify the level of difficulty via four standardized levels according to the individual needs of clients.

The therapeutic application enables direct interaction with stimuli in the environment of the virtual house and garden, thanks to hand tracking. The hand tracking and hand gestures are used also to control the movement in the environment by the patients, but direct head and body rotations and small movements are enabled by the VR headset. The psychotherapist can follow the patient actions and control the settings of the environment (e.g.selection of relevant stimuli, level of difficulty) using a streaming app on the tablet or a mobile phone and advise the patient where necessary. The level of difficulty is gradually increased during the progress of the therapy.

Conditions

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Obsessive-compulsive Disorder

Study Design

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Allocation Method

NA

Intervention Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Within-subject design. Waiting list period followed by active treatment period of the same length (5 weeks).

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Within-subject comparison of a waiting list condition with exposure therapy in VR

Patients first complete informed consent and baseline questionnaires and are placed on a waiting list for five weeks. After this period, they are reassigned to the active group, which receives five sessions of exposure therapy in virtual reality over a subsequent five-week period. The treatment effect will be evaluated using pre/post assessments, as well as monitoring adherence to exposure and response prevention assignments.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

exposure therapy in virtual reality

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Participants complete five 30-40-minute sessions of exposure therapy administered via a virtual reality headset once a week. The exposure involves exposure to various symptom-provoking scenarios in the virtual house environment. Scenarios can be adjusted to distinct OCD dimensions: contamination/cleaning, fear-of-harm/checking symmetry/ordering, and also to symptoms of hoarding. Stimuli can be also freely combined across different dimensions, so that the scenarios fit the individual needs.

Wait list

Intervention Type OTHER

The patients are assigned to a waitlist period for 5 weeks. During this period they are not allowed to change any treatment (phramacotherapy and/or psychoterapy as usual) started prior to the trial.

Interventions

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exposure therapy in virtual reality

Participants complete five 30-40-minute sessions of exposure therapy administered via a virtual reality headset once a week. The exposure involves exposure to various symptom-provoking scenarios in the virtual house environment. Scenarios can be adjusted to distinct OCD dimensions: contamination/cleaning, fear-of-harm/checking symmetry/ordering, and also to symptoms of hoarding. Stimuli can be also freely combined across different dimensions, so that the scenarios fit the individual needs.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Wait list

The patients are assigned to a waitlist period for 5 weeks. During this period they are not allowed to change any treatment (phramacotherapy and/or psychoterapy as usual) started prior to the trial.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Diagnosis of OCD (F42) using currently valid DSM-V and ICD-11
* Fluent in Czech

Exclusion Criteria

* Any other psychiatric, neurological and serious somatic illness
* Substance abuse
* Psychotropic medication (e.g. benzodiazepines) except antidepressants, antipsychotic medication and hypnotics.
* Contradictions to using a virtual reality (e.g., epilepsy, balance problems)
* Pregnancy
* Cardiostimulator and mental implants

Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

55 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No