Case series of gameChange VR therapy in forensic services.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
gameChange VR therapy: A case series of VR therapy to reduce agoraphobic avoidance by forensic patients with psychosis
IRAS ID
341605
Contact name
Sinead Lambe
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
RGEA
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 4 days
Research summary
Many people with psychosis struggle to go out into the community because of anxiety. This can lead to a worsening of mental health symptoms, increased isolation, and is detrimental to recovery. This issue can be even more pronounced in patients with psychosis using forensic services. Forensic patients often have been unable to access the community for a substantial period, meaning that at the point they can start to use community leave, anxiety about going out and being around others is a significant barrier to recovery.
Virtual reality therapy has the potential to help people build confidence in a safe and controlled environment. gameChange is a VR therapy based on established cognitive behaviour therapy principles for addressing agoraphobic avoidance. It was developed with over 500hours of input from more than 100people with psychosis. It has six everyday scenarios (café, pub, bus, GP waiting room, and street), each with five levels of difficulty. gameChange VR therapy was tested in a large multisite randomised controlled trial with NHS patients with psychosis. It was found to be safe and effective at reducing avoidance of, and anxiety in everyday situations. It was most effective for those with the most severe difficulties. There were no adverse events related to the treatment and side effects were found to be minimal and didn’t impact on the effectiveness of the treatment.
This therapy has not been tested with patients with psychosis using forensic services. This case series would examine the acceptability, feasibility and potential effectiveness of gameChangeVR in forensic setting. Twenty patients using forensic services would receive the intervention delivered by forensic mental health staff. Outcome measures will be taken at baseline, 6weeks and 12weeks. Forensic staff(n=10-20) will be interviewed about their experience of the intervention and the barriers and facilitators to delivering it in a forensic setting.
REC name
London - Riverside Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/LO/0180
Date of REC Opinion
8 Apr 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion