Can virtual reality help quiet paranoia in schizophrenia?
NCT ID NCT04902066
First seen Aug 12, 2026 · Last updated Aug 13, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This trial tests whether adding virtual reality to cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can better reduce persecutory thoughts in people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders compared to traditional CBT alone. About 256 participants will receive either VR-assisted CBT or standard CBT, alongside their usual care. The main goal is to see if VR therapy leads to a greater decrease in paranoid ideation after three months of treatment.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Cognitive behavioural virtual reality therapy (CBT augmented with virtual reality) compared with traditional cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis
- What this could lead to
- If effective, this could offer a new, engaging way to deliver therapy that reduces paranoid thoughts and improves daily functioning for people with schizophrenia.
- What could go wrong
- The trial is relatively early and the outcome depends on patient engagement and tolerability. VR may cause discomfort or not be more effective than standard therapy.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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259 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Apr 2021
- Finished
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Aug 2024
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Age 18 - years 2. Ability to give informed consent 3. A schizophrenia spectrum disorder (ICD-10 code: F20 -F29) 4. Green Paranoid Thought Scale total score ≥ 40 Exclusion Criteria: 1. Rejecting informed consent 2. A diagnosis of organic brain disease 3. IQ of 70 or lower (known mental retardation as assessed by medical record) 4. A command of spoken Danish or English inadequate for engaging in therapy 5. Inability to tolerate the assessment process
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Copenhagen Research Center for Mental Health - CORE
Copenhagen, Hellerup, 2900, Denmark
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