Empathy Training of Healthcare Professional Students

Healthcare providers in high-demand clinical settings are at high risk for burnout and secondary traumatic stress due to repeated exposure to patient trauma, which can compromise well-being and quality of care. Compassion-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (CF-CBT) can reduce stress and enhance self-compassion, but traditional delivery is time- and resource-intensive. This project evaluates the feasibility, acceptability, and potential effectiveness of virtual reality (VR)-enhanced CF-CBT specifically adapted for healthcare providers experiencing vicarious trauma. Grounded in Neff's self-compassion framework (emphasizing self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness) the VR intervention provides 8 immersive environments where participants can practice compassion-focused skills, engage in procedural learning, and regulate emotional responses in real time. The study will be conducted at UC San Diego Health using a two-arm randomized design comparing VR-enhanced CF-CBT with self-guided compassion-focused CBT/mindfulness exercises delivered without VR. Participants will complete 8 brief VR interventional sessions (approximately 6-10 minutes each) over 4-6 weeks. Outcomes include self-compassion, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress, measured using validated instruments. Feasibility and acceptability will be evaluated through recruitment, retention, session completion, engagement, and participant feedback. Findings will provide preliminary evidence for VR-enhanced compassion-focused interventions as a scalable and accessible approach to supporting healthcare providers' emotional well-being in demanding clinical environments, and will inform future cultural adaptation and implementation in low-resource and conflict-affected healthcare settings such as those in post-war zones.