Abstract

This talk summarizes a 3-year research examining the feasibility and limitations of the use of VR as a psychotherapy tool in combinations with 1) psilocybin and 2) ketamine based on studies at Swinburne University, Australia and a clinical application at Ovid Clinics, Berlin. Qualitative and quantitative data will be presented for the first time.

An increasing number of concerns are raised around the negligence in developing the appropriate context for the psychedelic treatment, and some look into virtual reality as the candidate for contextual design. With much confusion around the term VR In the context of psychedelics, our work evaluated a wide range of technical specifications, resulting in a VR design matrix. Our recent pioneering study in collaboration with Psychedelic Society Belgium explored the use of VR as a therapeutic tool extending the acceptance commitment framework in the context of psychedelic (psilocybin) retreat, and showed a 90% acceptance, appropriateness and feasibility rates.

Subjective statements from participants indicated that VR was particularly helpful in discerning between emotional and psychological elements that emerged during therapy (‘VR was helpful in structuring the mind’). The same VR scenario has been evaluated in collaboration with Mind Foundation through clinical application for MDD as an adjunct to their standard ketamine protocol. Further exploration highlighted limitations and potential side effects of this approach. An unexpected finding indicated that the most suitable place for the use of VR in the context of psychedelics may be as a rescue scenario during overly challenging experiences. Specifications and the method of delivery of a rescue VR scenario, termed by authors as ‘digital diazepam’, will be presented.