Virtual reality-based emotion-to-emotion therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial of efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness
Abstract
Background Trauma-focused psychotherapies are recommended first-line treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Emotion-to-Emotion Therapy (ETE) is a psychotherapy derived from traditional Korean medicine that regulates excessive emotional responses using theoretically opposing emotions. Virtual reality (VR) may support standardized and immersive delivery of the meditation component of ETE. This trial will evaluate the efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of VR-based ETE for PTSD. Methods This multicenter, randomized, waitlist-controlled, assessor-blinded trial will enroll 72 adults with PTSD and allocate them 1:1:1 to VR-based ETE, standard ETE, or a waitlist control group. Both active groups will receive 16 sessions over 8 weeks; waitlist participants will continue usual activities with scheduled monitoring. The primary endpoint is the between-group difference in the week-8 Korean version of the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5-K) total score, adjusted for the baseline PCL-5-K score and study site. A week-12 follow-up assessment will examine the durability of treatment effects. Secondary outcomes, assessed at baseline and weeks 8 and 12, include the Core Seven-Emotions Inventory–Short Form, Korean Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire–Short Form, Patient Health Questionnaire-15, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Korean Insomnia Severity Index, Hwa-Byung Scale, Clinical Global Impression scales, quantitative…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design. Reported size: 72 participants or records.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Antioxidant efficacy and the upregulation of Nrf2-mediated HO-1 expression by (+)-lariciresinol, a lignan isolated from Rubia philippinensis, through the activation of p38
- Anti-influenza virus activity of green tea by-products in vitro and efficacy against influenza virus infection in chickens
- Therapeutic Potential of Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) and MSC-Derived Extracellular Vesicles for the Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury
- The intratumoral administration of ferucarbotran conjugated with doxorubicin improved therapeutic effect by magnetic hyperthermia combined with pharmacotherapy in a hepatocellular carcinoma model
- Enhanced anticancer efficacy of TRAIL-conjugated and odanacatib-loaded PLGA nanoparticles in TRAIL resistant cancer
- In vivo tracking of bioorthogonally labeled T-cells for predicting therapeutic efficacy of adoptive T-cell therapy
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.