MedPath

Innovative Cognitive and Behavioral Psychotherapy for Cocaine Use Disorder

Not Applicable
Recruiting
Conditions
Cocaine Use Disorder
Interventions
Behavioral: Virtual Reality Cue Exposure (VRCE) Therapy for Cocaine Craving - 2 weeks
Behavioral: Pictures-based Cue Exposure (PCE) Therapy for Cocaine Craving - 3 weeks
Other: Memory Focused Cognitive Therapy (MFCT) - 1 week
Registration Number
NCT05833529
Lead Sponsor
Thomas Lehoux
Brief Summary

Cocaine is the 2nd most used illicit substance in Europe and its use implies numerous health complications as well as an annual social cost of 8.7 G d'€. Classical (picture, video, audio, imagery based or in vivo) cue exposure therapy for substance craving (CET), i.e. the irrepressible and non-voluntary desire to use the substance, failed to prove efficacious in treating substance use disorder. Virtual reality cue exposure therapy for substance craving (VRCET), is more immersive, realistic and controllable, and is suggested as being a more efficacious intervention in reducing craving as compared to classical CET.

So far it's still not known, thus the secondary aim of the present randomized and clinical trial is to investigate, whether virtual reality cue exposure is more efficacious, as compared to classical cue exposure, in both eliciting and reducing cocaine craving in a clinical context of CET for cocaine craving. The main study aim to is to investigate whether a VRCET for cocaine craving based cognitivo-behavioral therapy (i.e. VRCET followed by memory focused cognitive therapy) is more efficacious than a behavioural therapy (i.e. classical exposure therapy to craving) in reducing cocaine craving.

To do so, 54 voluntary residential patients in treatment for cocaine use disorder will be recruited from the Universitary Hospital Center of Martinique (CHUM, Martinique, France) and Saint-Esprit Hospital Center (CHSE, Martinique, France) and randomly allocated in either a 3 weeks individual experimental treatment (10 meetings of VRET for cocaine craving followed by 5 meetings of memory focused cognitive therapy) or a 3 weeks individual control treatment (15 meetings of pictures based exposure therapy for cocaine craving). Self-reported measures of retrospective (last 14 days) and in virtuo exposure cocaine craving will be collected at the beginning, after 10 days, after 15 days of treatment and 1 month post. Others secondary subjective, urinary and physiological cocaine use related measures will also be collected.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
54
Inclusion Criteria
  • Adult patients (age greater than or equal to 18),
  • Present the diagnostic criteria for a cocaine use disorder (DSM-5; SCID 5-CV),
  • Be voluntarily hospitalized and engaged in a residential standard treatment for cocaine use disorder at the Universitary Hospital of Martinique or at the Hospital Centre of Saint-Esprit in Martinique,
  • Present a motivation of "action" or "maintenance" of cocaine use cessation (University of Rhode Island Change Assessment Scale),
  • Have been informed of the research,
  • Have given free, informed and express consent,
  • Be affiliated to a social security scheme.
Exclusion Criteria
  • Present the diagnostic criteria (MINI 5.0.0.; DSM-IV):

    • Current high suicide risk episode,
    • Current psychotic syndrome,
    • Current mania or hypomania episode,
    • Current post-traumatic stress
  • Present significant symptoms of cyberkinetosis in virtual reality exposure (SP-IE),

  • Present another current medical condition at risk of danger or inability to comply with the protocol (e.g. heart problems, blindness or deafness,...),

  • Be placed under legal safeguard, guardianship or curatorship,

  • Patient who refused to participate in the study,

  • Pregnant or breastfeeding women.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
VRCET for Cocaine Craving then MFCTMemory Focused Cognitive Therapy (MFCT) - 1 week3 weeks treatment consisting of 10 meetings of Virtual Reality Cue Exposure Therapy (VRCET) for cocaine craving, followed by 5 meetings of Memory Focused Cognitive Therapy (MFCT). All meetings will last 90 minutes. VRCET meetings will take place in a 2 weeks period (weeks 1 and 2) at a daily frequency from monday to friday included. MFCT meetings will take place in the 1 week period following VRCET (week 3) at a daily frequency from monday to friday included.
VRCET for Cocaine Craving then MFCTVirtual Reality Cue Exposure (VRCE) Therapy for Cocaine Craving - 2 weeks3 weeks treatment consisting of 10 meetings of Virtual Reality Cue Exposure Therapy (VRCET) for cocaine craving, followed by 5 meetings of Memory Focused Cognitive Therapy (MFCT). All meetings will last 90 minutes. VRCET meetings will take place in a 2 weeks period (weeks 1 and 2) at a daily frequency from monday to friday included. MFCT meetings will take place in the 1 week period following VRCET (week 3) at a daily frequency from monday to friday included.
PCET for Cocaine CravingPictures-based Cue Exposure (PCE) Therapy for Cocaine Craving - 3 weeks3 weeks treatment consisting of 15 meetings of Picture-based Cue Exposure Therapy (PCET) for cocaine craving. All meetings will last 90 minutes. PCET meetings will take place in a 3 weeks period (weeks 1 to week 3) at a daily frequency from monday to friday included.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change from Baseline Cocaine Craving Frequency (Last 14 Days) at the End of TreatmentRight before treatment and at the end of "VRCET then MFCT" and "PCET" (end of treatment; week 3)

Self-reported retrospective cocaine craving frequency in the last 14 days according to the Craving Expérience Questionnaire (french version; CEQ-F "A Quelle Fréquence" total score; Ceschi et Pictet, 2018). CEQ-F "A Quelle Fréquence" total score varies from 11 to 111 (higher score suggesting higher craving frequency). CEQ-F "A Quelle Fréquence" focuses on the frequence of cocaine craving in the last 14 days.

Change from Baseline Cocaine Craving Intensity (in Virtual Reality Cue Exposure for Cocaine Craving) at the End of TreatmentRight before treatment and at the end of "VRCET then MFCT" and "PCET" (end of treatment; week 3)

Self-reported cocaine craving intensity in virtuo exposure to cocaine craving according to the Craving Expérience Questionnaire (french version; CEQ-F "Envie la Plus Forte" total score; Ceschi et Pictet, 2018). CEQ-F "Envie la Plus Forte" total score varies from 11 to 111 (higher score suggesting higher craving intensity). CEQ-F "Envie la Plus Forte" is administrated immediatly after a standard 5 mins virtual reality cue exposure for cocaine craving and focuses on the strongest cocaine craving felt during the exposure. The virtual reality cue exposure environment is different from the one to which participants were exposed during treatment, in contrary to VR settings which are similar.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Cocaine Craving Occurence, Imagery and Intrusiveness Frequency (Last 14 Days)Right before treatment; at the end of "VRCET" and "PCET" 2 weeks (week 2); at the end of "VRCET then MFCT" and "PCET" (end of treatment; week 3); 1 month post treatment (week 7)

Self-reported retrospective cocaine craving occurence, imagery and intrusiveness frequency in the last 14 days according to the Craving Expérience Questionnaire (french version; CEQ-F "A Quelle Fréquence" subscales total scores; Ceschi et Pictet, 2018). CEQ-F "A Quelle Fréquence" higher subscales total scores suggesting higher frequencies).

Self-Efficacy to Cope with Cocaine Craving without Using (in Virtual Reality Cue Exposure for Cocaine Craving)Right before treatment; at the end of "VRCET then MFCT" and "PCET" (end of treatment; week 3); 1 month post treatment (week 7)

Self-reported efficacy to cope with cocaine craving in virtuo exposure to cocaine craving according to the Drug Taking Confidence Questionnaire 8D (french version; DTCQ-8D total score; Sklar et al., 1999). DTCQ-8D higher total score suggesting higher self-efficacy). DTCQ-8D is administrated immediatly after a standard 5 mins virtual reality cue exposure for cocaine craving. The virtual reality cue exposure environment is different from the one to which participants were exposed during treatment, in contrary to VR settings which are similar.

Blood Volume Pulse and Skin Temperature (in Virtual Reality Cue Exposure for Cocaine Craving)Right before treatment; at the end of "VRCET then MFCT" and "PCET" (end of treatment; week 3); 1 month post treatment (week 7)

Blood volume pulse and skin temperature in virtuo exposure to cocaine craving according to PLUX Biosignals medically certificated devices (# ISO-13485; https://www.pluxbiosignals.com/pages/about). Blood volume pulse and skin temperature are recorded during a standard 5 mins virtual reality cue exposure for cocaine craving. The virtual reality cue exposure environment is different from the one to which participants were exposed during treatment, in contrary to VR settings which are similar.

Ecological Validity related to Cue Exposure Environments for Cocaine CravingBefore treatment; during treatment phase at each new cue exposure situation for cocaine craving experienced

Self-reported ecological validity related to cue exposure environments according to the Independant Television Commission - Sense Of Presence Inventory (french version; ITC-SOPI subscale total score; I2 Media Research Ltd, 2004; Independent Television Commission, 2000). The ITC-SOPI subscale "Ecological Validity/Naturalness" is administrated immediatly after each new cue exposure environment experienced.

Propensity to Cocaine Relapse (Next 2 Months)Right before treatment; at the end of "VRCET" and "PCET" 2 weeks (week 2); at the end of "VRCET then MFCT" and "PCET" (end of treatment; week 3); 1 month post treatment (week 7)

Self-reported propensity to cocaine relapse in the next 2 months according to the Advance WArning of RElapse scale (french translated version; AWARE total score; Miller and Harris, 2000; Kelly and al., 2011).

Emotions DysregulationRight before treatment; at the end of "VRCET" and "PCET" 2 weeks (week 2); at the end of "VRCET then MFCT" and "PCET" (end of treatment; week 3); 1 month post treatment (week 7)

Self reported questionnaire measure of emotion dysregulation according to the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (french version; DERS total score; Côté et al., 2013).

Negatives and Positive Emotional States (in Virtual Reality Cue Exposure for Cocaine Craving)Right before treatment; at the end of "VRCET then MFCT" and "PCET" (end of treatment; week 3); 1 month post treatment (week 7)

Self-reported intensity of negative and positive emotional states in virtuo exposure to cocaine craving according to the Brief Mood Introspection Scale (french version; BMIS negative and positive subscales total scores; Dalle et al., 2003). BMIS higher subscales total scores suggesting higher intensities). BMIS subscales are administrated immediatly after a standard 5 mins virtual reality cue exposure for cocaine craving. The virtual reality cue exposure environment is different from the one to which participants were exposed during treatment, in contrary to VR settings which are similar.

Spatial Presence, Sense of Reality and Cybersickness related to Cue Exposure Environments for Cocaine CravingBefore treatment; during treatment phase at each new cue exposure situation for cocaine craving experienced

Self-reported spatial presence, sense of reality and cybersickness related to cue exposure environments according to the Spatial Presence for Immersive Environments (french version; SP-IE subscales total scores; Khenak et al., 2019). SP-IE subscales "sense of spatial presence", "the affordance of the environment", "the user's enjoyment", "the user's attention allocation to the task", "the sense of reality attributed to the environment", "the social embodiment with avatars", and "the possible negative effects of the environment (cybersickness)" are administrated immediatly after each new cue exposure environment experienced.

Cocaine Craving Intensity (in Virtual Reality Cue Exposure for Cocaine Craving)Right before treatment; at the end of each VR or pictures-based exposures during VRCET and PCET; at the end of "VRCET" and "PCET" 2 weeks (week 2); at the end of "VRCET then MFCT" and "PCET" (end of treatment; week 3); 1 month post treatment (week 7)

Self-reported cocaine craving intensity in virtuo exposure to cocaine craving according to the Craving Expérience Questionnaire (french version; CEQ-F "Envie la Plus Forte" total score; Ceschi et Pictet, 2018). CEQ-F "Envie la Plus Forte" total score varies from 11 to 111 (higher score suggesting higher craving intensity). CEQ-F "Envie la Plus Forte" is administrated immediatly after a standard 5 mins virtual reality cue exposure for cocaine craving and focuses on the strongest cocaine craving felt during the exposure. The virtual reality cue exposure environment is different from the one to which participants were exposed during treatment, in contrary to VR settings which are similar.

Cocaine Craving Frequency (Last 14 Days)Right before treatment; at the end of "VRCET" and "PCET" 2 weeks (week 2); at the end of "VRCET then MFCT" and "PCET" (end of treatment; week 3); 1 month post treatment (week 7)

Self-reported retrospective cocaine craving frequency in the last 14 days according to the Craving Expérience Questionnaire (french version; CEQ-F "A Quelle Fréquence" total score; Ceschi et Pictet, 2018). CEQ-F "A Quelle Fréquence" total score varies from 11 to 111 (higher score suggesting higher craving frequency). CEQ-F "A Quelle Fréquence" focuses on the frequence of cocaine craving in the last 14 days.

Cocaine Craving Occurence, Imagery and Intrusiveness Intensity (in Virtual Reality Cue Exposure for Cocaine Craving)Right before treatment; at the end of "VRCET then MFCT" and "PCET" (end of treatment; week 3); 1 month post treatment (week 7)

Self-reported cocaine craving occurence, imagery and intrusiveness intensity in virtuo exposure to cocaine craving according to the Craving Expérience Questionnaire (french version; CEQ-F "Envie la Plus Forte" subscales total scores; Ceschi et Pictet, 2018). CEQ-F "Envie la Plus Forte" higher subscales total scores suggesting higher intensities). CEQ-F "Envie la Plus Forte" subscales are administrated immediatly after a standard 5 mins virtual reality cue exposure for cocaine craving and focuses on the strongest cocaine craving felt during the exposure. The virtual reality cue exposure environment is different from the one to which participants were exposed during treatment, in contrary to VR settings which are similar.

Client Satisfaction related to the Therapyat the end of "VRCET" and "PCET" 2 weeks (week 2); at the end of "VRCET then MFCT" and "PCET" (end of treatment; week 3)

Self reported questionnaire measure of client satisfaction related to the therapy according to the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire 8 (french version; CSQ 8 total score; Sabourin and al., 1989; Attkisson, 2020).

Dysfonctional Beliefs related to Cocaine UseRight before treatment; at the end of "VRCET" and "PCET" 2 weeks (week 2); at the end of "VRCET then MFCT" and "PCET" (end of treatment; week 3); 1 month post treatment (week 7)

Identification level to dysfunctional beliefs to cocaine use according to the Questionnaire of Core Beliefs related to Drug Use and Craving (french translated version; QBDU - Belief related to Addiction subscale total score; Martinez-Gonzalez et al., 2018).

Abstinence from Cocaine Use (Retrospective)Right before treatment; at the end of "VRCET" and "PCET" 2 weeks (week 2); at the end of "VRCET then MFCT" and "PCET" (end of treatment; week 3); 1 month post treatment (week 7)

Self reported retrospective measure of abstinence from cocaine use in the last 14 days according to the Timeline Followback (french translated version; TLFB total score; Sobell and Sobell, 1992; Mapi Institute, 2012).

Abstinence from Cocaine Use (Urine Drug Testing)Right before treatment; at the end of "VRCET" and "PCET" 2 weeks (week 2); at the end of "VRCET then MFCT" and "PCET" (end of treatment; week 3); 1 month post treatment (week 7)

Medical certified device of urinary drug testing measure of cocaine use in the last 7 days (Universitary Hospital Center of Martinique CSAPA, 2023).

Trial Locations

Locations (2)

Hospital Center of Saint-Esprit (Martinique)

🇲🇶

Saint-Esprit, Martinique

University Hospital Center of Martinique

🇲🇶

Fort-de-France, Martinique

© Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved by MedPath