While in December the wine flows freely everywhere and the Christmas drinks come faster than good resolutions, the tension increases for people recovering from alcohol addiction. While others are enjoying themselves, one carelessly offered glass of wine can be enough to cause a relapse. Researchers from Breda University of Applied Sciences (BUas) have now come up with something that captures exactly that moment: VR glasses that put you right in the middle of temptation and help you stay strong.
“The idea is simple,” explains lead researcher Marnix van Gisbergen. “You train exactly those situations that are so difficult in real life. In Virtual Reality, for example, we place someone in a bar where a glass of red wine is offered. Or we put him on the couch at home, where loneliness often strikes. That feels lifelike and by practicing this over and over again, it becomes easier to say no to alcohol in real life.”
In the RECOVRY (RElapse Control VR TherapY) project, clients walk among virtual people who try to gently or sometimes emphatically persuade them to have a drink. The intensity can be built up: from a stranger offering a beer to the person for whom resistance is more difficult. The therapist turns the knobs. “You start easy and make it more and more personal,” says Van Gisbergen. “Ultimately, those holograms can even mimic the situation of someone at home.”
“It feels real and you train yourself not to reach for the drink.”
That sounds impressive, but does it work? Experienced expert Hendrik, volunteer at the Black Gat Foundation, has high expectations. He already tested the VR environment. “Your control center in your brain becomes stronger,” he says. “It feels real and you train yourself not to immediately reach for a drink. And that is exactly what is needed, because in real life that temptation often comes unexpectedly. The more often you practice this, the greater your chance of staying sober.”
According to Hendrik, most test subjects respond positively. “Some people find it a bit crazy at first, but many people see it as a valuable exercise. You can even continue practicing at home, which makes it easier for you to walk past the wine shelves in the supermarket, for example, without your heart rate increasing.”
“Virtual Reality makes the treatment more lively.”
Psychiatrist Victor Buwalda, who has worked for years at addiction care institution Novadic-Kentron, sees VR as a serious addition to existing therapies. “Cognitive behavioral therapy remains the basis,” he emphasizes. “But VR makes that treatment more lively. You can practice very precisely what someone is vulnerable to. We already see that craving decreases and self-confidence increases. The next step is to investigate what the long-term effects are.”
For the time being, RECOVRY focuses on people with an alcohol problem or clients who are recovering from an addiction. But BUAZ researcher Marnix van Gisbergen is already looking further. “We’re expanding into smoking and drugs,” he says. “And perhaps even prevention for people who are not addicted, but are sensitive. In the future, everyone could use this at home.”
The VR glasses are not yet on the market, so with the upcoming holidays everyone will have to make do on their own.
What does the Het Zwarte Gat foundation do?
This is an organization of (former) clients in addiction care that is committed to better, recovery-oriented care, because many people fall into a ‘black hole’ after treatment and relapse. They work together with professionals and researchers to develop care standards (such as for alcohol and opiates), share experiential knowledge, and provide a central place (MIND Addiction) with information and experience stories for clients and loved ones. The goal is to improve care by focusing on the client and strengthening aftercare.