NCT05319509

Pilot Study of Virtual Reality Therapy for Students With Anxiety

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 100 (estimated)
• Sponsor: The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 30 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study is to assess changes in self-reported anxiety over the course of six virtual reality (VR) sessions and to assess changes in academic self-efficacy, as well as examine the feasibility and acceptability of a relatively short and time intensive VR intervention (i.e.,six sessions over the course of three weeks) for reducing anxiety symptoms in college students.

Conditions

• Anxiety

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	gameChange	Staff will explain the rationale behind gameChange, and briefly explain the different scenarios: a doctor's office, a waiting room, a pub, a café, a grocery store, a public street and a bus. Each scenario contains five levels, each increasing with anxiety stimuli and certain tasks the participant must complete. The participant will put on the Oculus headset, and go through a preliminary orientation game. The headset will be casted to an external monitor. Once they start gameChange, it will take the participants to the virtual therapist's room. They will be asked to choose which scenario they would like to participate in first and will complete all five levels for one scenario. Research staff will be taking event sampling-style observations of the participant. After completion of the levels, the participant will return to the virtual therapist's room for debriefing, and then will be asked to exit the game.

Timeline

• Start date: 2022-04-01
• Primary completion: 2027-04-01
• Completion: 2027-08-01
• First posted: 2022-04-08
• Last updated: 2025-06-12

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States

Regulatory

• FDA-regulated device study