NCT07140705

Personalized Virtual Reality for Promoting Well-Being and Psychological Flexibility in General Practitioners

A Personalized Virtual Reality Experience for Promoting Well-Being and Psychological Flexibility in General Practitioners: a Feasibility Study

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 21 (actual)
• Sponsor: Catholic University of the Sacred Heart · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

General Practitioners (GPs) face significant daily challenges, and promoting their well-being is essential. In particular, psychological flexibility (PF) is a key indicator of well-being. PF, conceptualized within Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), supports adaptation to change and fosters adaptive responses to demanding and complex situations. ACT identifies six core processes, which can be grouped into two functional units: the mindful acceptance of one's thoughts and emotions (acceptance, cognitive defusion, openness to internal experiences), and the commitment to engaging in actions that enrich one's life (values and committed action). This project will investigate the feasibility of a transformative metaphorical Virtual Reality (VR) experience to promote psychological flexibility and well-being in GPs. Specifically, this goal will be pursued through the integration of a metaphorical virtual experience, previously validated by the research team for its capacity to foster a transformative experience (TE)-that is, an experience that enables individuals to explore new ways of thinking and contributes to reshaping self-perception-with guided reflection on personal values and support in enacting value-consistent behaviors. A total of 25 GPs will participate in a single in-person session involving a 10-minute transformative VR experience ("The River and the Leaf"). Drawing on ACT metaphors, participants will be guided to reflect on aspects of the experience, on the professional challenges they face, and on the personal resources available to them. Following this experience, they will be supported in identifying the values that guide their everyday actions. After the in-person session, all participants will be encouraged to identify and implement value-based committed actions over the following two weeks, supported by two audio tracks.

Conditions

• Healthy Participants

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Transformative Virtual Reality Experience and ACT for General Practitioners	This intervention consists of an individual, in-person session in which each participant engages in a 10-minute transformative Virtual Reality (VR) experience entitled "The River and the Leaf", delivered through the Meta Quest 3 headset. Drawing on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) metaphors, participants are guided to reflect on key aspects of the experience, their professional challenges, and the personal resources available to them. Following the VR session, participants are supported in clarifying the values that guide their everyday actions. After the in-person session, all participants are encouraged to identify and implement committed actions aligned with their values over the subsequent two weeks, supported by two dedicated audio tracks.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-09-01
• Primary completion: 2025-11-15
• Completion: 2025-11-30
• First posted: 2025-08-25
• Last updated: 2025-12-23

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Italy