Virtual Therapy for Alcoholics.

by Liz on June 2nd, 2008

A common theme of addiction recovery counseling is the idea that you should avoid situations that trigger cravings. But that’s not always so easy. So therapists have often use role-playing techniques to help people discover the their best method of avoidance.

Now Patrick Bordnick, a University of Houston researcher, has taken this one step further and has been creating virtual reality scenarios designed to prepare alcoholics for situations that could trigger drinking.

He enlisted 40 alcohol dependent participants to test the effectiveness of this virtual world therapy. Putting on virtual reality headsets, the participants entered into a number of tempting environments such a kitchen filled with various forms of alcohol and a party in a small apartment.

They then had to move around the various rooms and rate their desire to drink. The study, by the way, was not only visual but also ofactory. In other words, if you walked past a glass of beer, you smelt the beer.

Borndnick believes that if we are able to have a therapist counsel and teach the alcoholic while he is in this virtual world surrounded by alcohol, then they will have a much stronger foundation to help them avoid temptation in the real world.

The results of Bordnick’s study will be published in the June 2008 issue of Addictive Behaviors.

(source)