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Virtual Reality Assisted Trauma Focused CBT
Sponsor: Queen's University, Belfast
Summary
Virtual Reality (VR) is becoming an increasingly important tool in mental healthcare, offering new ways to enhance patient treatment. Over the past decade, there's been growing interest in using VR therapies because they create immersive, controlled environments tailored to individual therapeutic needs. In a safe and controlled, therapeutic setting, these environments can help patients work through difficult emotions and experiences. However, despite its potential, the widespread adoption of VR in routine mental healthcare has been slow due to the high costs of the necessary technology, making it less accessible for many patients and therapists. VR is particularly valuable in mental health therapy because it can evoke strong cognitive, emotional, and physical responses, much like traditional therapeutic techniques that use imagery or visualisation. Research has shown that VR can offer unique benefits, such as real-time monitoring of a patient's responses and creating customised exposure therapies that safely mimic real-world scenarios. These features can be incredibly effective in treating conditions like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and phobias. This study aims to overcome the barriers to VR adoption by developing a more affordable approach to creating virtual environments that can be used in everyday mental healthcare. Collaborating with a software company called ProPeer Solutions, the project has created a process called "VR Photoscan." This method allows for the creation of virtual environments at a lower cost, making it more accessible to clinics and therapists. The ultimate goal is to integrate VR into standard mental health treatments, making this innovative technology available to more people who could benefit from it, specifically within routine psychological therapy services for adults with PTSD.
Official title: Exploring the Feasibility of Virtual Reality-Assisted Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for PTSD: A Mixed Methods Study
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - Any
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
40
Start Date
2026-10-05
Completion Date
2028-10-31
Last Updated
2026-11-03
Healthy Volunteers
No
Conditions
Interventions
VR Photoscan
VR Photoscan is an immersive virtual reality intervention that uses digitally reconstructed three-dimensional environments representing trauma-related locations. The technology enables patients to revisit and engage with these environments within a controlled therapeutic setting, supporting trauma-focused exposure, memory processing and the reduction of avoidance behaviours. VR Photoscan is delivered as an adjunct to trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (TF-CBT), under the guidance and supervision of a qualified clinician within a specialist psychological therapies service.
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT)
Trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (TF-CBT) is an evidence-based psychological intervention for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The therapy aims to reduce PTSD symptoms through the processing of traumatic memories, cognitive restructuring, and addressing trauma-related avoidance behaviours. Treatment is delivered by qualified clinicians within a specialist psychological therapies service in Northern Ireland, following established clinical protocols and individualised treatment plans. The frequency and duration of therapy are determined by individual clinical needs.
Locations (1)
Whiteabbey Hospital - Psychological Therapies Service
Newtownabbey, County Antrim, United Kingdom