Virtual Reality Recovery?

Virtual reality drug recovery testing is becoming more popular in the counselor certification community. Addicts will try out a scenario in a virtual reality and the study has found so far that it significantly reduces the cravings. 

"A feasibility study by Bordnick took 46 adult smokers and put them through a 10-week treatment program. One group used virtual reality treatment and nicotine replacement therapy (like gum and patches) while the other group got only the nicotine replacement therapy. The study found that, for the VR therapy group, "[s]moking rates and craving for nicotine were significantly lower."

But that's just one study. And the technique is still way too new--and the scientific literature way too sparse--to declare virtual reality some sort of junkie panacea.

Not that that's the point. Researchers prefer to think of virtual reality treatment as a complement to other, more traditional treatment methods, like counseling, medication and rehab. Rosenthal makes the point that even if virtual reality is only as reliable as reality-based cue reactivity, the method could still be useful--by acting as an alternative for people who don't react to the standard form of exposure to paraphernalia. (He has a study with crack addicts, but it's still underway, so he doesn't have complete data to present yet.) Traylor echoes that. She points out that virtual reality cue reactivity research into phobias makes otherwise unfeasible research feasible: someone with a fear of flying can be virtually put on a plane.

Bordnick summed up the process like this: "If I wanted to teach you to ride a bike, I could show you a video of a bike." That could work, "but wouldn't it be better if I could actually get you on a real bike?" It could be--it likely at least works in some way--but it'll take some more studies to prove how much better. Right now, after seeing success with smokers, Bordnick is moving on to an environment for heroin, which he says is the team's most realistic yet.

There are other advantages. Researchers can build an entire bar to simulate a drinking environment (and, in fact, they have), but it's more economical to use a virtual environment, where fake components get plopped into place--no moving parts necessary.

Until we find out exactly how effective virtual reality cue reactivity is for treating substance abuse, Rosenthal is supplementing his research with more traditional (but still novel) methods. Subjects in his virtual environment are played electronic blips after they start to come down, and later, when they get cravings in the real world, they can call a number to hear the tones again, assuaging the craving. That's a parallel for how virtual reality cue reactivity will likely be used: as a secondary world, not a replacement for the real one."

Source: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-04/addiction-therapy-and-virtual-r...