ArticleBMC psychology2026
Immersive virtual reality for reducing public speaking anxiety in students accessing a university psychological counseling service: protocol for a randomized controlled trial.
Article in BMC psychology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07351409 (Immersive Virtual Reality as a Tool for Reducing Public Speaking Anxiety in Students Accessing the University Psychological Counseling Service), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Immersive Virtual Reality as a Tool for Reducing Public Speaking Anxiety in Students Accessing the University Psychological Counseling Service: A Randomized Controlled Trial
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPublic Speaking Anxiety (PSA) is a form of social anxiety spread among university students, negatively affecting both academic performance and overall psychological well-being. Virtual Reality (VR)–based interventions combined with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) represent a promising approach for treating PSA, as they enable gradual and controlled exposure to feared social situations by simulating realistic audiences and environments. The primary aim of this study is to evaluate whether the use of VR as a support to standard psychotherapy is effective in managing anxiety and PSA in university students who access the University Psychological Counseling Service (UPCS).
methodsThis article outlines the study protocol for a randomized controlled trial (RCT). Participants will be divided into two groups: (1) a control group receiving psychological counseling, and (2) an experimental group that receives psychological counseling integrated with VR interventions based on 360° video scenarios. The intervention will include two VR-based modules: a VR–Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) module, designed to provide graded immersive exposure to anxiety-provoking scenarios, and a VR–Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) module, aimed at enhancing mindfulness and psychological flexibility through guided experiential practice. Psychological and physiological data collected during the sessions will be analyzed to compare the effectiveness of VR-integrated psychotherapy with traditional counseling alone. DISCUSSION: This study will introduce a novel VR-based ERP and ACT training protocol designed to reduce public speaking anxiety in university students by integrating innovative, immersive VR scenarios within a psychological counseling context. The proposed approach may be particularly relevant for university settings, as it offers a scalable, standardized, and controllable VR-supported counseling protocol aimed at reducing PSA, enhancing students’ academic functioning (e.g., oral exams and presentations), and strengthening the overall effectiveness of university psychological counseling services.
trial registrationThis protocol was registered at the Clinical Trials.gov (Identifier: NCT07351409) on January 16, 2026.
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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.