Virtual reality in addiction treatment

The main component of sustainable addiction treatment is establishing coping strategies in high-risk situations to avoid relapses. The problem is that these are very theoretical exercises. In virtual reality therapy, these risk situations are experienced, and the craving is deliberately provoked to test and improve the effectiveness of the coping strategies. Patients experience typical consumption situations in homes, while shopping, or at parties during the VR exposure. They learn to handle triggers confidently and practice alternative actions to consumption. This makes the therapy more vivid and practical. From learning psychology, we know that content designed interactively has about a 90% probability of being recalled when needed. This also benefits addiction therapy.

Michael Altenhofer is a psychological advisor specializing in behavioral therapy. In 2019, he founded VR Coach GmbH to develop interactive VR therapy software for addiction treatments and other mental health disorders. He supports university hospitals in Frankfurt and Tübingen in implementing various research projects. The VR system is already in daily practical use in Germany, Canada, Turkey, England, and Hong Kong.