ArticleDigital health
Patient perspectives on modified virtual reality-assisted therapy for persistent auditory verbal hallucinations: A qualitative substudy of the CHALLENGE randomized clinical trial.
Article in Digital health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Artificial Intelligence, Wearable Technologies, and Virtual Reality in Precision Nutrition and Obesity Management: A Critical Narrative Review.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Psychological and behavioral mechanisms linking childhood trauma profiles to voice-related distress in schizophrenia spectrum disorders: latent class, mediation, and conditional process analyses.Psychological medicine · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Auditory verbal hallucinations (voices) are common in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD), and cause significant distress, making them a critical target in psychotherapeutic interventions. AVATAR therapy, conducted on a two-dimensional computer screen and its adaptation virtual reality-assisted therapy (VRT), using three-dimensional virtual reality (VR), have shown promise. Despite the potential of VRT, research exploring how specific VR characteristics can simulate voices experiences and affect therapy outcome remains scarce. Addressing this gap is key to refining VRT for persistent voices. Objective: This qualitative substudy of the CHALLENGE trial explored patient perspectives on modified VRT versions (VRT-Emotions, VRT-Environment, and VRT-Whiteboard) and their therapeutic impact, with the aim to inform intervention refinement and development. Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 15 participants with SSD and persistent voices after undergoing the modified therapies. Data were analyzed within a pragmatist-critical realism orientation, with a hybrid deductive-inductive approach to thematic analysis. Reflexive team dialogues supported analytical rigor. Results: One overarching theme: Conclusions: Findings suggest that refining VRT for persistent voices may involve improving avatar's facial expressions, tailoring therapy to voice experiences, and using recognizable VR environments with gradual exposure and selective visual tools. While controlled studies are needed to establish efficacy, these insights offer practical guidance for VRT refinement and development. .
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