{"id":8391,"date":"2024-01-19T15:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-19T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8391"},"modified":"2024-01-19T15:30:00","modified_gmt":"2024-01-19T15:30:00","slug":"the-transformative-role-of-virtual-reality-based-meditation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8391","title":{"rendered":"The transformative role of virtual reality-based meditation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published:<\/strong> 2024-01-19T15:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n

Immersive technology like virtual reality (VR) is providing new hope to Veterans with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) at San Diego VA\u2019s<\/a> neuromodulation clinic.<\/p>\n

Nursing informatics specialist Kevin Sojourner, a Marine Veteran, talked<\/a> about the program, which integrates meditation in VR before and after ketamine therapy to help decrease anxiety. It has demonstrated exciting, measurable results.<\/p>\n

Ketamine therapy<\/h2>\n

Ketamine therapy is prescribed to address the challenges of patients with severe depression who have tried numerous medication-based and behavioral therapy approaches without success.<\/p>\n

\u201cA depressed brain is working at hyper-speed, so it doesn\u2019t really have an opportunity to heal because it\u2019s always going,\u201d Sojourner said. \u201cYou introduce an element like ketamine, a dissociative drug. It makes you feel like you\u2019re having an out-of-body experience and looking at life from different perspectives. It can also help those who experience depression due to chronic pain. This opportunity to dissociate helps them to manage that pain differently.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
<\/a>
Nursing informatics specialist Kevin Sojourner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

In 2019, Sojourner observed that patients at the neuromodulation clinic were not having optimal experiences in their existing ketamine therapy program. He learned about VA Immersive<\/a> nurse program manager Caitlin Rawlins, who was working at Western North Carolina VA<\/a> and he was inspired.<\/p>\n

He began piloting VR meditation with some of his more tech-savvy patients.<\/p>\n

Introducing virtual reality<\/h2>\n

Now, the program uses VR meditation with most TRD patients as a bookend to ketamine therapy. Before administration of the drug, patients appreciate the transitional space meditation provides. Following ketamine, VR also provides a space for introspective reflection on their experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt helps them shut the door on life before the treatment so they can take everything\u2014all the external stimulus that they\u2019re experiencing in life, and keep it outside the treatment room and focus on why they\u2019re there,\u201d Sojourner said.<\/p>\n

In addition to the positive feedback from patients, Sojourner has measured the efficacy of the new approach. \u201cI would take assessments prior to giving them the headset and after giving them the headset, and then again after the entire treatment was over to see if there was any benefit. It was a 12 to 20% improvement, which in the mental health world is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

This has the potential to greatly impact the broader health care ecosystem, particularly addressing the operational challenges in mental health care.<\/p>\n

\u201cImmersive technology helps make things more efficient. It\u2019s not a replacement. It\u2019s augmenting,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Combining immersive VR meditation with ketamine therapy exemplifies how innovating thinking and technology can enhance mental health care, creating new pathways for healing and personal growth.<\/p>\n

This effort aligns with VA Immersive\u2019s #headsinheadsets initiative, emphasizing the importance of immersive technology in the present and future of health care.<\/p>\n

VA Immersive has deployed over 3,000 VR headsets across more than 170 VA medical centers and outpatient clinics in all 50 U.S. states, plus Puerto Rico, Guam and American Samoa.<\/p>\n

\n

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Immersive technology is providing new hope to Veterans with treatment-resistant depression.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":318,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-veterans-health-care","category-whole-health-wellness"],"yoast_head":"\nThe transformative role of virtual reality-based meditation - Its Veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Immersive technology is providing new hope to Veterans with treatment-resistant depression.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8391\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The transformative role of virtual reality-based meditation - 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