Efficacy of virtual reality-based cognitive behavioral group therapy in enhancing emotional well-being and quality of life in Parkinson’s disease: A randomized controlled trial

This study evaluates the effectiveness of virtual reality-based cognitive behavioral group therapy (VR-CBGT) in improving emotional well-being and quality of life in individuals with Parkinson's disease. A randomized controlled trial was conducted in 2023 at Roozbeh Hospital, Tehran, with 90 Parkinson's patients. Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group receiving 12 VR-CBGT sessions over three months with a control group receiving standard medical care without psychological intervention. Emotional well-being was assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and quality of life was measured with the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39) before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) in SPSS-25. The intervention group demonstrated a significant improvement in emotional well-being (HADS-total score reduction of 7.2 points, P < 0.001) and quality of life (PDQ-39 total score improvement of 12.5 %, P = 0.002) compared to the control group. VR-CBGT explained 18 % of the variance in emotional well-being and 26 % in quality of life. These findings highlight VR-CBGT as an effective complementary intervention for enhancing psychological health and overall quality of life in Parkinson's patients. The immersive nature of VR fosters engagement and facilitates cognitive and emotional processing, supporting its integration into multidisciplinary treatment approaches.