[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"health-study-detail:100619960":3},{"organization":4,"armGroups":7,"interventions":21,"overallOfficials":27,"centralContacts":36,"locations":46,"responsibleParty":62,"collaborators":27,"id":66,"slug":67,"hasResults":68,"nctId":69,"briefTitle":70,"officialTitle":71,"acronym":72,"eligibilityCriteria":73,"healthyVolunteers":68,"sex":74,"minAge":75,"maxAge":76,"enrollmentInfo":77,"targetDuration":27,"studyType":80,"phases":81,"briefSummary":83,"conditions":84,"keywords":89,"overallStatus":93,"whyStopped":27,"lastUpdateSubmitDate":94,"lastUpdatePostDateStruct":95,"startDateStruct":98,"completionDateStruct":100,"leadSponsor":102,"locationsCount":103},{"fullName":5,"class":6},"University of Calabria","OTHER",[8,15],{"label":9,"type":10,"description":11,"interventionNames":12},"Experimental Arm: VR (360°) Modules (VR-ERP + VR-ACT) + Standard Counseling","EXPERIMENTAL","The experimental intervention includes two distinct VR-based training scenarios: (A) VR-ERP, designed to gradually expose students to anxiety-provoking situations to prevent avoidance responses, and (B) VR-ACT training, a consistent mindfulness training aimed at enhancing psychological flexibility and value-oriented behaviors. Participants in the experimental group, after VR-ACT training, go to standard counseling intervention.",[13,14],"Device: Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)","Device: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) training",{"label":16,"type":17,"description":18,"interventionNames":19},"Control Arm: Standard Counseling (No VR)","ACTIVE_COMPARATOR","Standard counseling sessions will be conducted by one psychotherapist for 6 consecutive weeks in 60-minute sessions.",[20],"Behavioral: Counseling program",[22,28,32],{"type":23,"name":24,"description":25,"armGroupLabels":26,"otherNames":27},"DEVICE","Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)","to simulate feared-anxiety-evoking scenarios, allowing both assessment and training for situationally induced anxiety to progressively promote desensitization to the anxiety-provoking stimuli",[9],null,{"type":23,"name":29,"description":30,"armGroupLabels":31,"otherNames":27},"Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) training","to provide an ACT-consistent mindfulness training targeting psychological flexibility processes, such as contact with the present moment, cognitive defusion, and acceptance, aimed at eliciting a grounding response within a digitally generated, safe environment.",[9],{"type":33,"name":34,"description":18,"armGroupLabels":35,"otherNames":27},"BEHAVIORAL","Counseling program",[16],[37,42],{"name":38,"role":39,"phone":40,"phoneExt":27,"email":41},"FRANCESCO CRAIG, PhD","CONTACT","+39 3274432477","francesco.craig@unical.it",{"name":43,"role":39,"phone":44,"phoneExt":27,"email":45},"Fabio Bruno, PhD","0984\u002F494623","fabio.bruno@unical.it",[47],{"facility":5,"status":27,"city":48,"state":49,"zip":50,"country":51,"countryCode":52,"cosmosGeoPoint":53,"geoPoint":58,"contacts":59},"Rende","CS","87036","Italy","IT",{"type":54,"coordinates":55},"Point",[56,57],16.18041,39.33154,{"lat":57,"lon":56},[60],{"name":61,"role":39,"phone":40,"phoneExt":27,"email":41},"Francesco Craig, PHD",{"type":63,"investigatorFullName":64,"investigatorTitle":65,"investigatorAffiliation":5,"oldNameTitle":27,"oldOrganization":27},"PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR","Francesco Craig","Associate professor","100619960","vr-counseling-to-reduce-public-speaking-anxiety-100619960",false,"NCT07351409","VR-Counseling to Reduce Public Speaking Anxiety","Immersive Virtual Reality as a Tool for Reducing Public Speaking Anxiety in Students Accessing the University Psychological Counseling Service: A Randomized Controlled Trial","VR-Counseling","Inclusion criteria are:\n\n1. current enrollment at the university;\n2. request for psychological counseling at the UPCS;\n3. fluency in Italian;\n4. provision of written informed consent;\n5. the presence of at least moderate levels of anxiety and perceived stress, as indicated by scores on standardized assessment instruments. Specifically, scores between STAI scores from 35 to 50 and PRPSA scores from 85 to 110.\n\nExclusion criteria are:\n\n1. current psychotic disorder;\n2. acute suicidality;\n3. severe substance dependence;\n4. severe sensory or motor impairments that would prevent safe use of VR equipment;\n5. inability to attend the planned sessions;\n6. concurrent participation in other specialized psychotherapy programs.","ALL","18 Years","40 Years",{"count":78,"type":79},72,"ESTIMATED","INTERVENTIONAL",[82],"NA","Public Speaking Anxiety (PSA) is a common manifestation of social anxiety among university students that can negatively impact academic performance and psychological well-being. Virtual Reality (VR) based interventions combined with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) represent a promising approach to address PSA by enabling controlled, gradual exposure to feared social situations through realistic simulations of audiences and settings. This randomized controlled trial will evaluate whether integrating VR sessions into standard psychological counseling provided by the University Psychological Counseling Service (UPCS) improves anxiety and PSA outcomes in university students compared with counseling alone.\n\nParticipants will be randomized to one of two groups: (1) a control group receiving standard psychological counseling intervention, or (2) an experimental group receiving psychological counseling supplemented with VR interventions delivered via immersive 360° video scenarios. The VR-based intervention includes a VR-Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) module offering graded exposure to anxiety-provoking public speaking contexts, and a VR-Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) module aimed at enhancing mindfulness and psychological flexibility through guided experiential exercises. Psychological outcomes and physiological responses recorded during sessions will be analyzed to compare the effectiveness of VR-integrated counseling versus standard counseling alone. This study addresses the limited evidence on CBT combined with 360° video-based VR exposure for PSA in university students and introduces a novel VR-based ERP and ACT protocol tailored to a university counseling setting.",[85,86,87,88],"Anxiety and Distress","Anxiety","Anxiety Disease","Public Speaking Anxiety",[90,91,92],"Public speaking anxiety","university counseling","Virtual Reality","NOT_YET_RECRUITING","2026-01-09",{"date":96,"type":97},"2026-01-20","ACTUAL",{"date":99,"type":79},"2026-03-01",{"date":101,"type":79},"2026-12-31",{"name":5,"class":6},1]