Virtual Reality for Enhancing Self Compassion and Reducing Burnout Among Healthcare Providers
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Compassion focused cognitive behavioral therapy sessions delivered via virtual reality headsets, Compassion focused cognitive behavioral therapy app based booklet.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Burnout, Healthcare Workers, Burnout, Burnout, Psychological, Self Compassion. Basic parameters: No limits · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Center list to be confirmed — check the primary protocol.
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Overview
Healthcare providers in high-demand clinical settings are at high risk for burnout and secondary traumatic stress due to repeated exposure to patient trauma, which can compromise well-being and quality of care. Compassion-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (CF-CBT) can reduce stress and enhance self-compassion, but traditional delivery is time- and resource-intensive. This project evaluates the feasibility, acceptability, and potential effectiveness of virtual reality (VR)-enhanced CF-CBT specifically adapted for healthcare providers experiencing vicarious trauma. Grounded in Neff's self-compassion framework (emphasizing self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness) the VR intervention provides 8 immersive environments where participants can practice compassion-focused skills, engage in procedural learning, and regulate emotional responses in real time. The study will be conducted at UC San Diego Health using a two-arm randomized design comparing VR-enhanced CF-CBT with self-guided compassion-focused CBT/mindfulness exercises delivered without VR. Participants will complete 8 brief VR interventional sessions (approximately 6-10 minutes each) over 4-6 weeks. Outcomes include self-compassion, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress, measured using validated instruments. Feasibility and acceptability will be evaluated through recruitment, retention, session completion, engagement, and participant feedback. Findings will provide preliminary evidence for VR-enhanced compassion-focused interventions as a scalable and accessible approach to supporting healthcare providers' emotional well-being in demanding clinical environments, and will inform future cultural adaptation and implementation in low-resource and conflict-affected healthcare settings such as those in post-war zones.
Interventions
- Behavioral Compassion focused cognitive behavioral therapy sessions delivered via virtual reality headsets
The intervention group will undergo a fixed number of immersive compassion focused cognitive behavioral therapy sessions delivered via virtual reality headsets. - Behavioral Compassion focused cognitive behavioral therapy app based booklet
This arm will receive the same order and frequency of compassion focused cognitive behavioral therapy sessions delivered via digital booklets
Primary outcome measures
- Self-compassion [Time frame: Baseline assessment (T0), Post-Intervention assessment (T1), and 6 weeks post-intervention assessment (T2)]
Secondary outcome measures (2)
- Burnout [Time frame: Baseline assessment (T0), Post-intervention assessment (T1), 6 weeks post-intervention (T2)]
- Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) [Time frame: Baseline assessment (T0), Post-intervention assessment (T1), 6 weeks post-intervention (T2)]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- have at least one year of experience working in a healthcare setting
Exclusion criteria
- participating in other behavioral interventions that could confound study results
- auditory or visual impairments that would interfere with VR usage
- Participants who experience clinically significant VR-related discomfort/motion sickness as assessed by the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ)
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: Yes
Study design
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Model
- Parallel assignment
- Masking
- Open label
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
Study locations
Center list to be confirmed — check the primary protocol.
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07666867 · 814637