Examining the Efficacy of a Virtual Reality Cognitive Remediation Program for People Living With Psychosis

Eligible participants will be administered various clinical (including a module from the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview and the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale Intelligence (WASI) to confirm eligibility), neurocognitive, social-cognitive, and community functioning assessments across two baseline visits. Participants are then randomly assigned to one of two study arms (a cognitive remediation intervention and active control, both using virtual reality). Regardless of the study arm assignment, participants will complete a six weeks (12 visits) training program where they will complete exercises in virtual reality and converse with study staff about a pre-selected topic. After each training visits, participants will also complete short questionnaires about their experience. One-week and three-months post-intervention, participants will complete the same assessments administered during the baseline visits. Also, at the one-week post-intervention time point, participants will complete a satisfaction with cognitive remediation program questionnaire. The investigators will also use ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) delivered through a smartphone app to measure changes in thinking skills and daily life functioning within the context of this clinical trial. At the first visit, the investigators will invite participants to download the EMA app, DigiSensing, to their phone. DigiSensing is built from the open access MindLamp app, which has been used to measure neurocognition in previous studies. Through the DigiSensing app, the investigators will deliver three, ten-minute assessments at baseline, one-week post-intervention, and six-months post-intervention. Each assessment has thinking skill tasks, and questions about mood, clinical symptoms, thinking skills, and daily life functioning.