The CDC (Center for Disease Control) in the U.S. reports that approximately 110,000 deaths from drug overdoses occurred between April 2020 and April 2021. That number has skyrocketed in the past three years by 30 percent. Just one of the culprits is the massive amount of fentanyl that’s currently allowed to pour across the open borders. Another culprit is the ease of obtaining “legal” gateway drugs like cannabis on the open market (the CDC states that pot is said to be by far the most abused drug next to alcohol in the U.S. and the world over). 

It’s because of the influx of potentially lethal drugs and the negative financial and criminal effects it’s having on many cities in the U.S. and beyond that drug recovery and rehabilitation clinics are springing up faster than ever before. And for good reason. People, especially young people, are dying in epidemic proportions from drug addiction. 

But there is some good news on the otherwise bleak horizon. Says Sherief Abu-Moustafa, Florida-based behavioral health services provider, entrepreneur, and a pioneer in the chemical dependency treatment field, recovery from drug addiction is possible under the right conditions. The right treatment inside a sober living community can offer a unique journey into full recovery. 

The Who’s Who recognized clinician who first began his practice more than twenty years ago designed his tranquil, ocean-front recovery center on evidence-based clinical models. Implementation of best practice standards along with cutting-edge clinical interventions are said to have led Abu-Moustafa to be recognized as a leader in the behavioral healthcare industry. He is also saving lives.  

That said, what other cutting-edge drug addiction rehabilitation techniques are being explored in 2024 and beyond? 

According to a recent report by Science Daily, researchers at Indiana University are said to be combining innovative, state-of-the-art virtual reality tech with psychological principles to forge a brand-new immersive addiction therapy for people who suffer from substance abuse issues and disorders.    

Having received a $5 million grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), the research program was able to launch an IU-affiliated startup business to further develop and test the new virtual reality technology.  

The program, which is led by assistant professor of psychiatry at the IU School of Medicine, Brandon Oberlin, clinical researchers were able to construct a virtual environment utilizing “future-self avatars” designed to assist afflicted persons with recovering from their substance abuse disorders. 

The avatars are said to be fully animated, life-sized, realistic photographic representations. Patients are able to converse freely with their avatars, who speak in the same voice via Artificial Intelligence (AI) and using personal details. The conversations happen in alternate futures.   

VR Technology

Said Oberlin. Today’s VR technology is not only clinically effective, but it’s becoming increasingly common for use in treating numerous mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, phobias, post-operative pain (both real and imagined), depression, and more. However, it hasn’t yet found widespread acceptance in the field of substance abuse, disorder intervention, and subsequent recovery. 

The capitalizing on VR’s potential ability to produce a completely immersive experience displaying what the study calls “otherwise impossible scenarios,” Oberlin and his team have engineered a method for people to interact with differing versions of their future selves within the context of their substance abuse and their recoveries. This can be both a frightening and satisfying experience. 

It took four years of comprehensive study, along with input from Indianapolis-based treatment centers, before Oberlin and his team were able to publish their pilot study in Discover Mental Health. Their overall conclusions point to the very real possibilities that virtual reality simulation of “imagined realities” will aid in the recovery of substance abusers by attacking their risk of relapse while increasing their chances of self-connectedness going forward in the future.  

People who are going through the recovery process are able to experience a personal virtual experience that’s unique only to them and their unique problems, Oberlin said. It presents a variety of alternate realities which can be directly connected to their personal choices. In one future virtual reality, a patient can find him or herself a zombie-like bum living on the streets of San Fransisco. In another virtual reality, the patient might be fully recovered and living a happy, healthy, and productive life. 

Oberlin believes the VR technology might represent a revolutionary intervention, especially for early substance abusers who are not yet too far gone, and prevent them from going down the never-ending rabbit hole of drug addiction. The VR tech will also have a variety of far-reaching mental health applications. 

Clinical VR Tech Trials

In the early months of 2023, Oberlin and his team were awarded a $5 million grant from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) along with the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse, Alcoholism (NIAAA), and federal scientific research institutes that are operated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). They were also granted approximately $320,000 in the form of a Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I research stipend to continue and advance their VR work which has included technical and clinical trials. 

The technical trials were engineered to test for efficacy on relapse prevention, plus brain activation along with other crucial elements that are directly related to substance abuse disorder treatment, or so Oberlin attested. For instance, in one study, patients received virtual reality experiences on a remote basis by utilizing wireless headsets that they were able to access at home. In this manner, substance abuse patients could potentially receive remote treatment for their mental health disorders. It’s also the potential answer to patients who refuse or simply cannot engage in a clinical, person-to-person setting.    

Oberlin stated that the overall long-term goal of his team’s work is to leverage cutting-edge VR technology for the purpose of providing a “therapeutic experience” that is intended to support a substance abuser’s early recovery. This is said to be the most dangerous time in the abusive process since there is such a high risk for relapse.  

2022 and 2023 marked new sad yearly records for drug overdoses in the U.S. alone, with more than 100,000 deaths. Those are the deaths that are accurately recorded, which means the tally could be considerably higher. 

The influx of fentanyl at the open U.S. southern border is largely to blame for this problem. The problem could be eliminated with a swift change in political policy, but the powers in charge are turning a blind eye to the epidemic of substance abuse and subsequent fatalities. The good news is that IU’s innovative VR reality-based addiction rehabilitation research efforts are taking a proactive stance in the curbing of substance abuse.     

It should also be noted that with the assistance and support from the IU Innovation and Commercialization Office, Oberlin and his team were able to file for international patent protection on behalf of the VR tech in early 2022. New rehabilitative startups are also being established in partnership with other virtual reality businesses located in the Indianapolis area. The purpose of this is to further the development of VR technology while exploiting its commercial potential.     

Drug abuse and addiction is no laughing matter. An abuser must first admit to a problem. Only then can an effective treatment be prescribed. Whether that treatment revolves around a behavioral health science clinic or, a VR-based addiction recovery solution, or a combination of both, one thing is for certain: intervention can mean the difference between a long life or an early death.