Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) significantly impact patients’ lives with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Modified VR-Avatar therapy, integrating cognitive behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy, offers a promising approach to address AVH by enhancing patient engagement through personalized virtual interactions. This non-randomized, waitlist-controlled, single-group, pre-post pilot trial, enrolled 16 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders experiencing persistent AVH. Recruited participants undergo a 3-month waitlist period with standard care before receiving modified VR-Avatar therapy. Comprehensive assessments at baseline, pre-treatment, and post-treatment evaluate symptom severity, comorbid depression and anxiety, quality of life, well-being, and therapy perceptions. Assessments are conducted by blinded raters. VR-Avatar therapy was associated with significantly improved PANSS total (g = 0.77), positive symptoms (g = 0.81), hallucination score (g = 1.07), cognitive symptoms (g = 0.49), PSYRATS hallucinations (g = 0.96), and BAVQ-R omnipotence (g = 0.51) post-treatment (w12 vs. w24, p 20% improvement. Early findings suggest modified VR-Avatar therapy is feasible and may benefit Hungarian patients with AVH, particularly those with more severe baseline symptoms and distress. • Hallucination severity significantly reduced, with medium to large effect sizes. • High screen failure rate reflects strict criteria and potential cultural barriers. • Notable individual response variability highlights the need for tailored approaches. • Outcomes varied potentially due to baseline symptom severity and resistance.
Gerlinger et al. (Sun,) studied this question.