Randomized-controlled pilot study on compassion-focused therapy using immersive VR in psychotic disorder patients, indicating potential benefits.
Background Psychosis is often marked by paranoia, negative self-schemas, and diminished positive self- and interpersonal experience. Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) targets these difficulties by cultivating self-soothing, positive self-relating and strengthening attitudes. This pilot explored whether immersive Virtual Reality (VR) – designed to evoke awe and openness through an outer space scenario – could anchor CFT therapeutic content, relating to better outcomes in a CFT vs. an outer space control (astronomy-focused) education and VR.
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Ascone et al. (2025) studied this question.
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