Auditory verbal hallucinations rank among the most frequent and distressing features of schizophrenia, affecting roughly 75% of patients and resisting medication in about one-third. Approximately 13% of patients experience worsening hallucinations during their first decade of illness.

Current cognitive behavioral and relational psychotherapies show modest effects, leaving a clear unmet need for innovative treatment approaches.

In the study, “Immersive virtual reality-assisted therapy targeting persistent auditory verbal hallucinations in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders in Denmark: the Challenge assessor-masked, randomized clinical trial,” published in The Lancet Psychiatry, researchers evaluated the efficacy and safety of Challenge-VRT compared with enhanced treatment-as-usual for persistent auditory hallucinations.