Exploring the therapeutic potential of combining psychedelics and virtual reality (VR) to treat mental health.
In this article, neuroscientist and author Dean Burnett digs into the basics of psychedelics, VR and new therapies that powerfully combine the two treatment modalities.
“The psychedelic experience is a multisensory, embodied, deeply immersive experience, which is difficult to put into words. Therefore, processing it through the method of talk therapy seems almost counterintuitive – and yet, this is the predominant approach to integrationâ€.
“Immersive (VR) environments allow us to exploit all the senses in therapeutic engagement and give patients an opportunity to express themselves in a multisensory fashion. But also, and perhaps most importantly, they allow them to journey through their expressions, to explore, together with their therapist, the contents of their psycheâ€
VR integration also brings the potential of more prescriptive control to psychedelics, including the ability to increase or decrease sensory inputs based on a patient’s reaction to the treatment.
In a nutshell, the combo could make psychedelic treatments more predictable and manageable, increasing the likelihood of government approval and patient acceptance, thereby improving the accessibility and affordability of care.
It is becoming more clear that combining pharmaceuticals and digital therapeutics will be a cornerstone of immersive medicine, creating a powerful treatment solution and perhaps even a revolution in mental health care.
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More about the author:
Dean Burnett, is a neuroscientist, author, blogger, occasional comedian and all-round ‘science guy based in the UK.
Dean’s new book, Emotional Ignorance, is on my reading list and his bestseller Happy Brain is a favourite of mine. www.deanburnett.com
Source
https://www.sciencefocus.com/future-technology/psychedelics-virtual-reality-mental-health
