VR for Drug Rehabilitation |
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Developing and Using Virtual Reality Technology for Rehabilitation of Drug Users in Probation Service
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According to the Council of Europe latest report, there are around 1.6 million people under the supervision or care of the probation services in Europe, representing an average rate of 219 probationers per 100.000 inhabitants.
It is well documented the high prevalence of drug use among probationers and the wider offender population. In fact, a large proportion of people who come into contact with the criminal justice system has a history of drug use and many continue to use drugs while imprisoned, switching to more harmful patterns of drug use in some cases. Research also shows that ex-inmates return to environments that strongly trigger relapse to drug use and put them at risk of overdose. For these reasons, prison and probation contexts are important settings for the provision of responses that address drug use and its harms to health. In terms of treatment options, research shows that new technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR), augmented reality, hold promise in supporting individuals in substance misuse treatment and rehabilitation. |
News and Events
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Past Events
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News
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Amsterdam, March 23rd, 2020
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Amsterdam, 4th to 6th November 2020
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Related Projects
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The European Agenda on Education & Training 2010 suggests that it is necessary to facilitate peer training, especially with disadvantaged groups; additionally, the placement of offenders in peer-support roles is also increasingly recommended by different governments, as peers can be effective ‘identity models’ and the “living proofs” of the possibility of giving up the criminal life. Peer support is necessary because offenders view professional staff as authority figures and are more likely to listen to individuals that have ‘walked in their shoes’, and it is cost-effective. On the other hand, pro-social modeling – which is based on the notion of pro-social behaviour such as sharing, comforting, rescuing, and helping – is a style of supervision rather than a specific program that can reduce recidivism as much as 50%. Thus, the PPROMPT project seeks to explore and implement an approach that would build social capital and resilience within people that are under probational measures.
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