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Not yet recruitingNCT07877363AI-VRETUpdated Oct 16, 2026

Artificial Intelligence-Powered Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for OCD in College Students: A Proof-of-Concept Study

An interventional study of Traditional Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and Artificial Intelligence-Powered Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (AI-VRET) in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), sponsored by University of California, San Diego. Not yet recruiting. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 29 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-16.

Sponsored by University of California, San Diego · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Updated Oct 16, 2026Newly registeredGo to Updates ↓
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
24
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 29 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This research study is being conducted to study the use of artificial-intelligence powered virtual reality exposure therapy (AI-VRET) to treat college students with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

02

Conditions studied

  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Keywords

  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
  • Exposure Therapy
  • College Mental Health
  • Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
  • Virtual Reality (VR)
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI)
03

In context

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

626 studies on the registry are indexed under Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder; 162 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 24 is below the median of 45 across 510 interventional studies indexed under Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Browse Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder studies →

Lead sponsor

University of California, San Diego is the lead sponsor of 975 studies on the registry; 196 are open to participants now.

Of its 111 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 71 (64%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 29 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  1. Sign and date informed consent form.
  2. Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and availability for the duration of the study.
  3. Age 18-29 at time of enrollment.
  4. Diagnosed with OCD as confirmed through clinical interview.
  5. Currently enrolled as a college student and receiving psychiatric care in the University of California San Diego College Mental Health Program.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Age under 18 or over 29 years at the time of enrollment.
  2. Absence of a confirmed OCD diagnosis via clinical interview.
  3. Not currently enrolled as a college student.
  4. Presence of a contraindication for VR use, including a history of migraine, seizures, motion sickness, simulator sickness, or having an implanted medical device that could be impacted by magnetic or electromagnetic fields (e.g., cardiac pacemaker, defibrillator, or hearing aid).
  5. Suicidal or parasuicidal behavior within the past 6 months.
  6. Comorbid psychotic disorder.
  7. Requirement for frequent medication changes that would preclude stable study participation.
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
24 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Traditional Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)

    Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is a specific type of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that is the most effective, and first-line psychotherapy for children, adolescents, and adults. ERP is guided by a trained therapist and helps individuals extinguish fears and reduce or eliminate compulsive behaviors in a structured and supportive environment. ERP treatment begins by the therapist providing the patient with psychoeducation and then developing an exposure hierarchy or exposure list for the individual's OCD symptoms. The individual with OCD is then exposed to stimuli that elicit distress (exposure) and then prevented from engaging in compulsive, ritualistic, or avoidance behavior (response prevention). The exact ERP session varies depending on the individual's OCD symptoms and their readiness to engage in compulsions. The therapist and patient then collaboratively develop practice or homework assignments to complete between sessions.

    Other: Traditional Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)

  • Experimental
    Artificial Intelligence-Powered Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (AI-VRET)

    Virtual reality exposure therapy is a modality of exposure therapy that immerses individuals in computer-generated scenarios to gradually face their fears while wearing headsets that place them in the immersive environments. Artificial intelligence-powered virtual reality exposure therapy (AI-VRET), adds on to virtual reality exposure therapy by enabling the therapist to modify the virtual reality environment by use of artificial intelligence in real-time.

    Device: Artificial Intelligence-Powered Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (AI-VRET)

Interventions

  • OtherTraditional Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)

    Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is a specific type of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that is the most effective, and first-line psychotherapy for children, adolescents, and adults. ERP is guided by a trained therapist and helps individuals extinguish fears and reduce or eliminate compulsive behaviors in a structured and supportive environment. ERP treatment begins by the therapist providing the patient with psychoeducation and then developing an exposure hierarchy or exposure list for the individual's OCD symptoms. The individual with OCD is then exposed to stimuli that elicit distress (exposure) and then prevented from engaging in compulsive, ritualistic, or avoidance behavior (response prevention). The exact ERP session varies depending on the individual's OCD symptoms and their readiness to engage in compulsions. The therapist and patient then collaboratively develop practice or homework assignments to complete between sessions.

  • DeviceArtificial Intelligence-Powered Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (AI-VRET)

    Virtual reality exposure therapy is a modality of exposure therapy that immerses individuals in computer-generated scenarios to gradually face their fears while wearing headsets that place them in the immersive environments. Artificial intelligence-powered virtual reality exposure therapy (AI-VRET), adds on to virtual reality exposure therapy by enabling the therapist to modify the virtual reality environment by use of artificial intelligence in real-time.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale-II (Y-BOCS-II)

    Time frame: Visits 1 (baseline) & 14 (post-treatment assessment, approximately 14 weeks following baseline)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Florida Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (FOCI)

    Time frame: Visits 1 (baseline) & 14 (post-treatment assessment, approximately 14 weeks following baseline)

  2. Adult OCD Impact Scale (OCD-IS):

    Time frame: Visits 1 (baseline) & 14 (post-treatment assessment, approximately 14 weeks following baseline)

  3. Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS)

    Time frame: Visits 1 (baseline) & 14 (post-treatment assessment, approximately 14 weeks following baseline)

  4. Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7):

    Time frame: Visits 1-14 (all study visits). Visit 1 is at baseline, and subsequent visits are approximately one week apart. The final visit is approximately 14 weeks after baseline.

  5. Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)

    Time frame: Visits 1-14 (all study visits). Visit 1 is at baseline, and subsequent visits are approximately one week apart. The final visit is approximately 14 weeks after baseline.

  6. Presence Questionnaire (PQ)

    Time frame: Visits 2-13. Visit 2 is approximately one week following baseline, and subsequent visits are approximately one week apart. Visit 13 is approximately 13 weeks following baseline.

  7. Cybersickness in Virtual Reality Questionnaire (CSQ-VR)

    Time frame: Visits 2-13. Visit 2 is approximately one week following baseline, and subsequent visits are approximately one week apart. Visit 13 is approximately 13 weeks following baseline.

07

Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

08

Updates

1 registry update since Sep 25, 2026
Registered
First appeared on the registry. No changes since
Oct 16, 2026
Show all 1 update
  1. Oct 16, 2026
    First appeared on the registry

From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07877363
Responsible party
Kristen Duarte (Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor, University of California, San Diego) — Principal investigator
First posted
Oct 16, 2026
Start date
Oct 1, 2026 (estimated)
Primary completion
Jun 30, 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Jun 30, 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Oct 16, 2026

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Oct 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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