Reading the mind of the avatar: Social Cognition Training in Virtual Reality (DiSCoVR) for people with a psychotic disorder

INTERVENTION: Both arms receive treatment as usual. In addition, the DiSCoVR group receives a 16‐session (8 weeks, twice per week) individual intervention aimed at improving social cognition. Participants in this group practice with social situations in Virtual Reality. The intervention is provided by a therapist who gives strategy coaching and feedback. The active control group, VRelax, completes an individual, 16 session (2x per week, 8 weeks) VR relaxation training. Participants visit relaxing virtual environments (e.g., swimming with dolphins). The intervention is provided by a therapist who teaches relaxation techniques and coaches the participant in applying these in daily life. CONDITION: Psychotic disorders, Schizophrenia, Social cognition, Virtual Reality, Social functioning, Theory of Mind, Emotion Recognition ; ; PRIMARY OUTCOME: Social Cognition (emotion perception, social perception and Theory of Mind); ; ; ; Change in scores (from baseline to post‐treatment) on Ekman 60 Faces (emotion perception), The Awareness of Social Inferece Test (TASIT; theory of mind and social perception).; SECONDARY OUTCOME: ‐ Social cognition scores (Ekman 60 Faces, TASIT) at follow‐up, in comparison to post‐treatment. ; ; ‐ Social functioning, as measured using an interview (PSP) and experience sampling (custom questionnaire). Experience sampling will inquire about participants’ emotions and their (current and recent) experience of social situations (e.g., are they in company, how enjoyable is this social contact). ; ; ‐ Other secondary outcomes include self‐esteem (SERS), social anxiety (SIAS), anxiety (BAI), depression (BDI), stress (PSS), psychotic symptoms (PANSS), information processing (TMT) and paranoia (GPTS). In the sessions, some additional behavioural and subjective experience data is collected, e.g., cyber sickness (SSQ; both groups), subjective emotions and stress (VRelax), behaviour and performance (e.g., distance from avatars, % of correct answers in exercises) in and experience of virtual environment (DiSCoVR), state anxiety (STAI; DiSCoVR), feature binding (picture task; DiSCoVR), and dissociation (CADSS; DiSCoVR). ; INCLUSION CRITERIA: ‐ Age 18 ‐ 65. ‐ Indication of impaired social cognition by treating clinician. ‐ Written informed consent. ‐ Diagnosis of psychotic disorder, as determined by a structured clinical interview in the past three years or as determined by a diagnostic interview (MINI plus) at baseline