Trial reportJournal of medical Internet research2021
Virtual Reality Relaxation for Patients With a Psychiatric Disorder: Crossover Randomized Controlled Trial.
Trial report in Journal of medical Internet research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 63 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
63 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 138 citations in OpenAlex.
- Physiological Responses to Virtual Reality-Based Stress Regulation and Relaxation Interventions: A Systematic Review.Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress · 2026Pooled it
- The improvement effects and mechanisms of virtual reality training on depression: a systematic review from a neurotransmitter-plasticity dual-pathway perspective.Journal of global health · 2026Pooled it
- The effect of virtual reality stimulation on reducing the incidence of delirium among patients admitted to intensive care units: a systematic review study.BMC anesthesiology · 2025Pooled it
- Evaluating virtual reality technology in psychotherapy: impacts on anxiety, depression, and ADHD.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Virtual reality relaxation for people with mental health conditions: a systematic review.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2023Pooled it
- Managing emotional distress in older adults with mental illness: a randomized controlled trial evaluating virtual reality relaxation.Translational psychiatry · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Integrating Immersive Virtual Reality With Savoring to Promote the Well-Being of Patients With Chronic Respiratory Diseases: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Trial
- Dynamic Interactive Social Cognition Training in Virtual Reality (DiSCoVR) versus Virtual Reality Relaxation (VRelax) for People With a Psychotic Disorder: A Single-Blind Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.Schizophrenia bulletin · 2023Trial
- Bringing the Green Environment From Outdoors to Indoors Through Virtual Reality for Psychological Well-Being: Quasi-Experimental Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Effectiveness of Virtual Exercise Intervention in Adults With Major Depressive Disorder: A Systematic Review.Health science reports · 2026Review
- Effects of Digital Nature Interventions on Positive Psychological Outcomes: A Scoping Review.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- The Impact of Self-Managed Virtual Reality Relaxation on Non-invasive Ambulatory Physiological Markers in Home-Based Psychiatric Care.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2026Article
- A qualitative approach to applying virtual reality relaxation for patients with psychiatric problems: Focus group study with healthcare professionals.PLOS digital health · 2026Article
- Virtual reality in psychological interventions for mood disorders: a scoping review.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
- A systematic review on mindfulness-based immersive interventions in depressive disorders.Npj mental health research · 2026Review
- Virtual reality in treatment of psychological disorders: a systematic review.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Review
- Reducing aggressive behavior in forensic inpatients with virtual reality aggression prevention training-intellectual disability: a pilot study.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Assessing Patient Acceptance of Being Offered a Virtual Calm Room in Psychiatric Inpatient Care: Mixed Methods Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- What Are the Ethical Issues Surrounding Extended Reality in Mental Health? A Scoping Review of the Different Perspectives.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
3 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundVirtual reality (VR) relaxation is a promising mental health intervention that may be an effective tool for stress reduction but has hardly been tested in clinical trials with psychiatric patients. We developed an easy-to-use VR self-management relaxation tool (VRelax) with immersive 360° nature videos and interactive animated elements.
objectiveTo investigate the immediate effects of VR relaxation on negative and positive affective states and short-term effects on perceived stress and symptoms in patients with a psychiatric disorder, compared to standard relaxation exercises.
methodsA randomized crossover trial was conducted in 50 patients receiving ambulatory treatment for anxiety, psychotic, depressive, or bipolar disorder. Participants were randomly assigned to start with VRelax or standard relaxation and used both interventions for 10 days at home. They completed 8 visual analog scales of momentary negative and positive affective states before and after each session. Global perceived stress and psychiatric symptoms were measured before and after both intervention periods. Treatment effects were analyzed with multilevel mixed model regression analyses and 2-way analysis of variance.
resultsBoth VRelax and standard relaxation exercises led to a statistically significant immediate improvement of all negative and positive affective states. Compared to standard relaxation, VRelax resulted in a significantly greater reduction of total negative affective state (change 16.2% versus 21.2%; t
conclusionsIf the results of this trial are replicated and extended, VRelax may provide a much-needed, effective, easy-to-use self-management relaxation intervention to enhance psychiatric treatments.
trial registrationNetherlands Trial Register NTR7294; https://www.trialregister.nl/trial/7096.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.