Rationale: Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) - hearing voices that others cannot hear - are common in mental illnesses. For many people AVH are distressing, disabling and persistent, despite medication. Current psychological interventions show low to medium effects. Preliminary studies suggest that an innovative empowering psychological therapy using computer simulations representing the AVH (avatars) can be effective for reducing AVH distress and frequency. Virtual reality (VR) has the potential to improve this treatment. Therefore, we developed a novel VR treatment for this problem. In this study, the effect of this treatment will be investigated.
Objective: To test the effect of a novel VR treatment for AVH (VR-VOICES) on distress and frequency of AVH in patients with a psychiatric disorder. Furthermore, to investigate the effect of VR-VOICES on clinical symptoms, quality of life, and healthcare costs of the treatment.
Having a DSM-5 diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder
Distressing AVH for minimally 3 months.
Age 16 years or older
Insufficient command of the Dutch language
Unable to provide informed consent
Primary diagnosis of a substance use disorder, or organic brain disease (such as dementia)
A degree of substance abuse that hinders treatment adherence
University Medical Center Groningen
Lead sponsor
ZonMw: The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development
Collaborator