Virtual Reality for Enhancing Self Compassion and Reducing Burnout Among Healthcare Providers

NCT07666867 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 814637
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 52
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

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.

Conditions

Burnout, Healthcare Workers; Burnout; Burnout, Psychological; Self Compassion; Empathy Training of Healthcare Professional Students

Keywords

Self-Compassion; Empathy; CBT; Virtual Reality; Healthcare Provider Burnout

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Self-compassion

  Self-compassion will be assessed using the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), as it reflects a core therapeutic target of the CF-CBT-based techniques

  Baseline assessment (T0), Post-Intervention assessment (T1), and 6 weeks post-intervention assessment (T2)

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Burnout

  Baseline assessment (T0), Post-intervention assessment (T1), 6 weeks post-intervention (T2)

• Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS)

  Baseline assessment (T0), Post-intervention assessment (T1), 6 weeks post-intervention (T2)

Study Arms (2)

Virtual Reality enhanced Compassion Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

This arm will receive a fixed number of immersive compassion focused cognitive behavioral therapy sessions delivered via virtual reality headsets.

Behavioral: Compassion focused cognitive behavioral therapy sessions delivered via virtual reality headsets

Control Group

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

This arm will receive compassion focused cognitive behavioral therapy delivered via psychoeducational booklets.

Behavioral: Compassion focused cognitive behavioral therapy app based booklet

Interventions

Compassion focused cognitive behavioral therapy sessions delivered via virtual reality headsets BEHAVIORAL

The intervention group will undergo a fixed number of immersive compassion focused cognitive behavioral therapy sessions delivered via virtual reality headsets.

Also known as: Virtual Reality, CF-CBT

Virtual Reality enhanced Compassion Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Compassion focused cognitive behavioral therapy app based booklet BEHAVIORAL

This arm will receive the same order and frequency of compassion focused cognitive behavioral therapy sessions delivered via digital booklets

Also known as: Control

Control Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• have at least one year of experience working in a healthcare setting

You may not qualify if:

• 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)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of California, San Diego: lead

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Burnout, Psychological

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Stress, Psychological; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior

Study Officials

• Wael Al-Delaimy, PhD, MD

  University of California, San Diego

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Andre Faro, PhD

  Universidade Federal de Sergipe

  STUDY CHAIR

Central Study Contacts

Rawan Iriqat

CONTACT

(858) 534-2230; ririqat@health.ucsd.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 18, 2026
• First Posted: June 24, 2026
• Study Start: July 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): October 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): February 1, 2027
• Last Updated: June 24, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-06